FEATURES 



COVER STORY 



28 THE SCALY ONES 



Squamata — lizards and snakes — have spread 

 to almost every landmass and branched 

 into more than 7,200 species. 



LAURIE J. VITT 

 AND ERIC R. PI AN KA 



36 FROM FINS TO LIMBS 



Recent fossil discoveries show how 

 four-legged land animals evolved 

 from fish with finlike paddles. 

 JENNIFER A. CLACK 



42 BEYOND THE BIG BANG 



A new cosmic worldview holds 

 tli at countless replicas of Earth, 

 inhabited by our clones, are 

 scattered throughout the cosmos. 



ALEX VILENKIN 



ON THE COVER: 



Defense display of 

 leaf-tailed gecko. Madagascar. 

 Photograph by Claudio Velasquez. 



