Given below are two statements.

Statement I : Lobe-finned fishes evolved into the first amphibians that lived on both land and in water.

Statement II : Lobe-finned fishes were the immediate ancestors of modern day frogs and salamanders.

In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below.

Statement I is correct but statement II is incorrect.

• Statement I is true. Lobefins, a group of lobe-finned fishes, indeed evolved into the first amphibians that lived both on land and in water. This evolutionary transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats marked a significant event in the history of vertebrates, leading to the emergence of tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates), including amphibians.
• Statement II is false. While lobefins are indeed an evolutionary group of fishes, they are not direct ancestors of modern-day frogs and salamanders (which are amphibians). Instead, lobefins represent a group of fishes that includes the coelacanths and lungfishes. Amphibians, including frogs and salamanders, evolved from a different lineage of early tetrapods that diverged from lobefins.