Because the bones of the neck and the pectoral girdle were disconnected, "Tulerpeton" could lift its head. Therefore, in shallow water, it had a considerable advantage over the other animals whose heads only moved side to side. The later land animals that descended from "Tulerpeton"’s relatives needed this head flexion on land, but the condition probably evolved because of the advantage that this gave it in shallow marine waters, not for land. In the book “Vertebrate Life”, authors Pough, Janis, and Heiser say that,” The development of a distinct neck, with the loss of the opercular bones and the later gain of a specialized articulation between the skull and the vertebral column (not yet present in the earliest tetrapods), may be related to lifting the snout out of the water to air or to snap at prey items.”