Royal Canadian Mint introduced a new silver coin "Tiktaalik" in the Prehistoric Creatures series.

In 2004, researchers working in Nunavut uncovered the fossilized remains of a mysterious prehistoric creature to bridge the evolutionary gap between water and land.

Tiktaalik lived roughly 375 million years ago. It had the gills, scales and fins of a fish, but the head of an amphibian: flat with both eyes on top, and spiracles that suggest the presence of rudimentary lungs. What's more, Tiktaalik had extra-thick ribs, another adaptation for animals that don't float in water and need extra support against gravity while on land. It also had wrist and finger-like bone structures inside its fins — precursors to actual limbs.

Experts believe Tiktaalik used these limb-fins to push itself out of the shallow, fast-flowing water where it lived and crossed short distances on land. It's a captivating, puzzle-packed creature that will fuel the imagination of dino-detectives young and old alike!

Special features:
• This distinctive cupronickel coin is the fourth in our series of coloured Prehistoric Creatures coins featuring photo-luminescent (glow-in-the-dark technologies) elements.
• For best effect, place the coin in sunlight, fluorescent, or incandescent light for 30-60 seconds, then bring the coin into the dark to reveal the glowing skeleton of the dinosaur!
• Photo-luminescent effect will not wear.

Coin was designed by Canadian artist Julius Csotonyi, and illustrates paleontologists' rendition of what Tiktaalik probably looked like.

Сountry: Canada
Data of issue: January, 2014
Face value: 25 cents
Metal: Cupronickel
Weight: 0,5 g
Diameter: 35 mm
Mintage: 30,000 pcs
Designer: Julius T. Csotonyi (reverse), Susanna Blunt