Word: fin
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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This month seems to have been designated as a time for lost histories to re-emerge. First we learned of the Gospel of Judas, which sheds new light on the history of early Christianity, and then the fishapod, a pre-historic creature thought to bridge the evolution from fin to feet. And this week sees the re-appearance of another, less world-historical but still woefully forgotten "missing link" in the evolution of the graphic novel medium. Kings in Disguise (W.W. Norton; 184 pages; $17), by James Vance and Dan Burr, will finally be reprinted in an affordable, attractive...
...repeated condemnations from the IWC. The group last year voted against the country's plans to expand its quota; Japan has done so anyway. This year its "scientific" expedition is scheduled to haul in 1,240 whales, mainly minkes, but also 100 sei whales, 10 sperm whales and 10 fin whales, all of which are endangered. That's twice as many as were taken in 2000, more than even the number hauled in by Norway, which simply ignores the moratorium. Next year Japan plans to bag 50 humpbacks, the endangered giants famous for their spectacular breaches and eerie subaqueous songs...
...limbs and lungs to make a living in water. And that scenario makes sense because it sets up conditions for natural selection--the force that powers evolution--to favor transitional life-forms like the fishapod, with its funny wrist and five digits encased in the webbing of a fin...
...This article consists of a complex illustration. Please see hardcopy of magazine.] Source: Neil Shubin, University of Chicago 380 million years ago BEFORE TIKTAALIK Lobe-finned fish had forelimbs suitable for moving in water but not on land 375 million years ago TIKTAALIK The forelimbs had the beginnings of fingers and a wrist, wrapped inside a fin 360 million years ago AFTER TIKTAALIK Tetrapod forelimbs have wrists and digits used for crawling on land [This article consists of a complex illustration. Please see hardcopy of magazine...
...fills a gap in our understanding,” Jenkins said. “We knew about lobed-fin fish, we knew about early tetrapods, but how do you turn lobed-fin fish into tetrapods? This fish is beginning to turn into a tetrapod, giving us real insight on anatomical evolutionary transformation...