39 Quotes by Neil Shubin

Most of the major joints of the fin are functional in this fish.

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.

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.

We've really only begun to sort of crack that spot.

We did a few high fives when we uncovered the fossil, but there's only so much celebrating you can do in the Arctic.

Another thing to get used to in the Arctic is being in the food chain. There are polar bears there, and polar bears eat people. So we carry weapons.

That's ideal having the snout sticking out because in the cliff behind it is likely the rest of the animal.

This is not some archaic branch of evolution. This is our branch of evolution. This is our wrist. This is the evolution of our neck.

This animal represents the transition from water to land?the part of history that includes ourselves.