Neil Shubin
Neil Shubin
Neil Shubinis an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer. He is the Robert R. Bensley Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Associate Dean of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and Professor on the Committee of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago along with being the Provost of the Field Museum of Natural History. He is best known for his discovery of Tiktaalik roseae...
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth22 December 1960
few high uncovered
We did a few high fives when we uncovered the fossil, but there's only so much celebrating you can do in the Arctic.
earliest functional major parts similar ways wrist
Most of the major joints of the fin are functional in this fish. The shoulder, elbow, and even parts of the wrist are already there and working in ways similar to the earliest land-living animals.
functional major
Most of the major joints of the fin are functional in this fish.
animal clearly creature itself support
Here is a creature with fins that can do push-ups. This is clearly an animal that is able to support itself on the ground.
creature
Here is a creature with fins that can do push-ups.
begun crack sort
We've really only begun to sort of crack that spot.
animals early inside similar version walk
When we look inside the fin, we see a shoulder, we see an elbow, and we see an early version of a wrist, which is very similar to that of all animals that also walk on land.
animals shows stages
It shows us the stages by which land-living animals were constructed.
extent figure time took
It took a long time for us to figure out really the extent of what we had.
beings cabinet challenge figure file filled human kinds questions static
The world is filled with puzzles, all kinds of interesting questions and it's our challenge to figure them out. It's not just like this static file cabinet of things that human beings know. It's ever expanding.
history includes land origin parts represents talk talking transition water
It represents the transition from water to land - the part of history that includes ourselves. When we talk about the fish's wrist, we're talking about the origin of parts of our own wrist.
began rock
When we got back into the lab, we removed the rock from the bone, and we began to find some really significant stuff.
looking lots saw
We were always looking over our shoulders; we saw lots of tracks.
creatures fish fossil land mosaic saw showing time
What we saw was a real mosaic between characteristics of fish and those previously thought to be only in land animals. The fossil was showing us how creatures were assembled over time to live on land.