Final answer:
The first animals to use land were arthropods, with millipedes around 430 million years ago. They developed exoskeletons and respiratory adaptations for terrestrial life. Amphibians were the first land vertebrates, with significant adaptations like air-breathing lungs and limbs for mobility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The transition of life from water to land marks a significant evolutionary event. Amphibians were the first vertebrates to live on land, but before them, arthropods, such as millipedes, were the initial pioneers that colonized terrestrial habitats. The earliest walking arthropods appeared around 430 million years ago during the Paleozoic Era. These organisms developed critical adaptations to survive on land, including exoskeletons to prevent desiccation and respiratory systems like book lungs or trachea for air breathing.
Moving onto land had its advantages, such as access to new food sources and niches with less competition and predation. Additionally, the adaptations required for terrestrial living, like limbs adapted for walking and the ability to breathe air, were significant since these traits laid the groundwork for subsequent diversification of land-dwelling creatures.
Before animals made this leap, the Devonian Period witnessed the evolution of the first seed plants, which played a crucial role in preparing the land for animal habitation. These plants contributed to creating a viable habitat by providing a food source and altering the landscape, making it more hospitable for animals that would eventually come ashore. As for vertebrates, their move to land necessitated further adaptations, such as limbs for locomotion and lungs adapted to air breathing, which amphibians possessed.