Science and Nature

Your Inner Fish

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.

Your Inner Monkey

54m 40s

Our primate progenitors had bodies a lot like those of modern monkeys and spent tens of millions of years living in trees. From them we inherited our versatile hands, amazing vision and capable brains — but also some less beneficial traits, including our bad backs and terrible sense of smell.

Episodes

  • Your Inner Monkey: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Your Inner Monkey

    S1 E3 - 54m 40s

    Our primate progenitors had bodies a lot like those of modern monkeys and spent tens of millions of years living in trees. From them we inherited our versatile hands, amazing vision and capable brains — but also some less beneficial traits, including our bad backs and terrible sense of smell.

  • Your Inner Reptile: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Your Inner Reptile

    S1 E2 - 54m 46s

    A key moment in our evolutionary saga occurred 200 million years ago, when the ferocious reptile-like animals that roamed the Earth were in the process of evolving into shrew-like mammals. But our reptilian ancestors left their mark on many parts of the human body, including our skin, teeth and ears.

  • Your Inner Fish: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Your Inner Fish

    S1 E1 - 55m 11s

    Our arms, legs, necks and lungs were bequeathed to us by a fish that lumbered onto land some 375 million years ago. The genetic legacy of this creature can be seen today in our own DNA, including the genes used to build our hands and limbs.

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