Though Shubin was the lead paleontologist on this mission, he makes sure that his book recognizes the many scientists, like Steve Gatesy, who contributed to the amazing find. This fish is special because it blends traits that previously appeared only in animals that live solely in water with traits that appear in animals that live in land
and water. It is an indirect ancestor of all animals that now live on land, as it paved the way for body systems that facilitate limb development for motion on land.