Tenacity

Shubin’s goal in finding and studying fossils was to discover what some consider a “missing link.” He wanted to find fossil evidence of creatures that had features of both fish and amphibians. These creatures would help tell the story of how fish began to “sprout” new physical characteristics that enabled them to walk on solid ground. It was the challenge of a life time but Shubin committed himself to it.

To accomplish this goal, Shubin and his colleagues ultimately, decided to focus on three areas: the east cost of Greenland, eastern North America and the Canadian arctic with the latter being the most ideal. They had done their homework and found that these areas would be predictably the best sites to find the elusive fish/amphibian creature. It took Shubin and his team four expeditions to Ellesmere Island in the Arctic and six years to find their...