Your Inner Fish

by

Neil Shubin

The geologic period of the fossil record from 420 million-years-ago to 358 million-years-ago, commonly known as the age of the fishes. During this time period, complex fish developed, including many species that are still alive today. In the later Devonian years, animals that could survive on land began to appear. The time period is named for Devon, England, the first site where rocks of this age were studied.
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Devonian Period Term Timeline in Your Inner Fish

The timeline below shows where the term Devonian Period appears in Your Inner Fish. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Finding Your Inner Fish
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...his hometown of Philadelphia. The Catskill Formation of Pennsylvania actually holds rocks from the Late Devonian Period that contain valuable fish specimens. Shubin and one of his students, Ted Daeschler, check... (full context)
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...are ready for more. Looking at a geology textbook, they notice that rocks from the Devonian Period are also in the Alaskan Yukon (which has already been well-studied), the coast of... (full context)
Chapter 2: Getting A Grip
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...bone that attaches the four fin bones to the fish’s shoulder. Another fish from the Devonian period, Esuthenopteron, goes even farther, with one bone connecting to two bones in the fin. (full context)
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Swedish Paleontologist Gunnar Säve-Söderbergh found a “missing link” fossil from the Devonian Period in expeditions between 1929 and 1934. This fish fossil, Ichthyostega soderberghi, has a land... (full context)
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Shubin and his team bring back three chunks of Devonian rock from their 2004 expedition to the Canadian Arctic. Fossil preparators Fred Mullison and Bob... (full context)