Professor Neil Shubin is a leading figure in modern paleontology, particularly with regard to the acquisition of vertebrate animal characters during their transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment. One of his major discoveries is that of Tiktaalik, a fossil from the Devonian period (a sarcopterygian fish) found during excavations he carried out in Greenland and published in 2006. This fossil is in fact a sort of missing link between the tetrapods and our fish ancestors, a fossil that had a worldwide impact when it was published.
In addition to his qualities as a field researcher, Neil Shubin is also an outstanding and renowned science communicator. His books include The Inner Fish translated into French by Laffont: Au commencement était le poisson) have earned him rare public and media recognition in this field, for which he has received numerous awards, crowned by his recent election to the presidency of the prestigious US National Academy of Sciences. His new book Ends of the Earth has just been published (February 2025).