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. |
We did a few high fives when we uncovered the fossil, but there's only so much celebrating you can do in the Arctic. |
We were always looking over our shoulders; we saw lots of tracks. |
We've really only begun to sort of crack that spot. |
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 got back into the lab, we removed the rock from the bone, and we began to find some really significant stuff. |
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. |