Your Inner Fish

Your Inner Fish

Science and Nature Series / 1 Season

How did your body become the complicated, quirky, amazing machine it is today? Anatomist Neil Shubin uncovers the answers in this new look at human evolution. Using fossils, embryos and genes, he reveals how our bodies are the legacy of ancient fish, reptiles and primates - the ancestors you never knew - are in your family tree.

55m 11s

Episode 3: Your Inner Monkey Preview

30s

"Your Inner Monkey" tracks our hands, feet, color vision, spine and upright gait to our primate and hominid progenitors, who also passed on perhaps the most important legacy of all: a path to the human brain.

Episode 2: Your Inner Reptile - Preview

30s

"Your Inner Reptile" traces our hair, skin, teeth, jaws and sense of hearing back to reptilian ancestors — from ferocious beasts that ruled the Earth to a little shrew-like animal that lived 195 million years ago.

We Hear with the Bones that Reptiles Eat With

4m 10s

Our ears are much more sensitive than those of most reptiles, due to the tiniest bones in the human body. But where did these bones come from? Evolutionary biologists Karen Sears and Neil Shubin show us evidence of their connection to the bones of ancient reptilian jaws.

Series Preview

4m 30s

Anatomist and paleontologist Neil Shubin sees evidence of our ancient past in our anatomy and in our DNA. Join him as he journeys to meet our ancient animal ancestors, while revealing the impact those animals have had on our bodies.

The Ancient History of the Human Hand

3m 52s

Anatomist and paleontologist Neil Shubin has long been inspired by the hand's architecture and abilities. He traces this quintessentially human feature back in time to when our ancestors were fish living at the water's edge.

What Can Fossil Teeth Tell Us?

1m 59s

You may not think there's much insight to be gleaned from a tooth, but paleontologist Neil Shubin shows us that's not the case. As he demonstrates with a collection of skeletons, teeth contain an incredible amount of information about how an animal lives its life.

Meet Your Cousins: Squirrel Monkeys

2m 5s

Because of our evolutionary relationship, we have quite a bit in common with other living primates, including squirrel monkeys. See what we mean as you watch these agile monkeys navigate their forest world.

Amazing Places, Amazing Fossils: Lucy

4m 54s

Fossils of human ancestors from millions of years ago can be found in the rocks of Ethiopia. Paleontologist Don Johanson recounts his discovery of one iconic fossil, and the impact it had on our understanding of where we come from.

Amazing Places, Amazing Fossils: Tritheledont

4m 5s

The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada, is home not only to the world's largest tides, but also to some incredibly important fossils. Paleontologist Neil Shubin describes one particularly striking specimen from these cliffs: an animal in the midst of the reptile-to-mammal transition.

Finding the Origins of Human Color Vision

4m 41s

The ability to see the world in color is one most people take for granted. But our earliest primate ancestors lacked this ability. When and how did we gain the ability to see the world the way we do? Neil Shubin pays a visit to vision expert Jay Neitz to learn where our color vision comes from.

The Evolution of Your Teeth

2m 51s

The molars, incisors and canines that fill your mouth have a deep evolutionary history. Join paleontologists Roger Smith and Neil Shubin as they trace the history of your teeth back to fearsome beasts that lived over 200 million years ago.

Amazing Places, Amazing Fossils: Tiktaalik

4m 38s

The discovery of a 375-million-year-old fish, Tiktaalik, sheds light on a major transition in the history of life: the movement of vertebrates onto land. Paleontologist and anatomist Neil Shubin describes his team's discovery of that fossil.

How Do We Know When Our Ancestors Lost Their Tails?

4m

Unlike most other primates, apes don't have a tail. When did our ancestors lose this potentially useful appendage? Paleoanthropologist Holly Dunsworth introduces Neil Shubin to Proconsul, a fossil ape that provides some answers to that question.

The 500-Million-Year History of the Human Brain

3m 19s

Even though your brain enables you to do some amazing things, its evolutionary story runs deep. Biologists Peter Holland and Neil Shubin go hunting for Amphioxus, a tiny, simple animal, whose genes show us just how ancient our brain truly is.

Ancient Hands, Ancient Tools

4m 35s

After searching for some of the first stone tools made by our ancestors, Neil Shubin pays a visit to paleoanthropologist Tracy Kivell, who shows us how changes in the hands of our ancestors led to the ability to create and use tools.

Ancient Human Ancestors: Walking in the Woods

3m 47s

When did we start walking exclusively on two legs, and how did this transition take place? Neil Shubin pays a visit to Tim White and Owen Lovejoy, two anthropologists working together to understand "Ardi," a 4.4-million-year-old fossil that sheds light on our transition to bipedalism.

The Human Hand: A Gift from Ancient Primates

4m 26s

Our hand has the same basic form as the hands of all other primates. But what did the earliest version of this hand look like? Neil Shubin pays a visit to Jon Bloch, who shows him a remarkable fossil of Notharctus, an early primate with a hand that you may recognize.

Your Aching Back: A Gift from Your Ancient Ancestors

2m 52s

The shape of our backs keeps us balanced when we walk on two legs, but it comes at a cost. Anatomist Bruce Latimer shows how our transition to being exclusively bipedal has led to many common back ailments.

Extended Interview: Tim White

6m 47s

Paleoanthropologist Tim White and his team discovered a 4.4 million-year-old fossil they named Ardi. This fossil, along with other fossils of her species and from her environment, radically changed the way we think about how our species came to walk exclusively on two legs.

Your Inner Fish - Preview

30s

Paleobiologist Neil Shubin uncovers the answers in this new look at human evolution. Using fossils, embryos and genes, he reveals how our bodies are the legacy of ancient fish, reptiles and primates — the ancestors you never knew were in your family tree.

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