Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin is about the discovery of the
"missing link" between lizards and fish, Tiktaalik, as well as what makes people evolve and the
changes that occur in evolution. Shubin is an paleontologist who discovered the
bones of a fish with hands, called Tiktaalik. Tiktaalik was a huge find, as it was already known to be the
transition from fish to reptile, but nobody had ever seen proof of its
existence. Additionally, Shubin discusses evolution, specifically how the body
decides what parts develop as needed. These range from better senses of smell
to growing or losing limbs to better suit the environment. Not only that, but
he also shows how similar our body parts are to ancient creatures that have
gone extinct many years ago. For example, we share a large part of our genes
with worms, and our hands used to be fins! I liked this book because it was easy
to read but still taught me a lot about ancient life and transitions in
anatomy. I'd recommend Your
Inner Fish to anyone who wants to learn about
the ways our bodies have grown from simple fish to the complex animals we are
today. It does take a little while to actually get into the meat of the book,
but the introductory paragraphs pass quickly.
Eddie Sim
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