A MISSING puzzle piece that is believed to link humanity and fish which was discovered in the Scottish Borders is coming home.

The fossilised remains of a lizard-like creature, nicknamed ‘Tiny’ by archaeologists, were uncovered in Berwickshire after walkers saw a tiny part of its skull sticking out of the ground.

Tiny was one of the first four-legged creatures to move onto land - making it our ancestor and filling in a 15 million year fossil gap when fish transitioned to becoming land dwellers.

The Burnmouth fossil, whose analysis was backed with funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), is just one of many important fossils discovered in the Scottish Borders.

And later this month the remains of Tiny will be on display in Edinburgh.

The late fossil hunter, Stan Wood, conducted numerous excavations across the region in years gone by – and uncovered a vast haul of pre-historic lizards.

However, there was a 15-million year gap between his discoveries and their sea-fairing ancestors – leaving a blank space in evolution.

However, Tiny is now helping to fill the gaps.

David Millward, a geologist at NERC's British Geological Survey, believes every new specimen like Tiny helps to paint a fuller picture of human evolution. He said: “Every specimen tells us something new.

“Tetrapods are our ancestors and they’re the missing evolutionary link from fish and on to lizards, then ultimately to birds, dinosaurs, mammals and to us as people today.

“If Tetrapods had not made that fundamental step we would not be where we are today.”

Tiny will be on display later this month at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, from November 17 to 19, as part of their UnEarthed exhibition.

A Dynamic Earth spokesperson told us: “Anyone in the Borders who's interested in learning more about Tiny - or puffins, or volcanoes, or air quality or what precious metals make up mobile phones - should come to UnEarthed at Dynamic Earth later this month.

“It's completely free and is showcasing the UK's best environmental science.

"Fun for all the family, and there will be an exhibition about Tiny!”