Neil Shubin

Your Inner Fish

1. IDEA 1

   Our bodies carry ancient history

   Shubin argues that the human body is shaped by a long evolutionary history stretching back to fish and even simpler creatures. Looking closely at our bodies reveals traces of these distant ancestors.

2. IDEA 2

   A fossil fish had a neck

   Shubin describes his team's discovery of Tiktaalik, a 375-million-year-old fossil found in the Arctic. This creature had features of both fish and land animals, including a neck and sturdy fins.

3. IDEA 3

   Hands began as fins

   Shubin explains that the bones in our arms and hands match bones found in the fins of ancient fish. The same basic pattern appears in the limbs of all animals with backbones.

All 8 ideas from Your Inner Fish →