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Scientists Discover the Very First Hipster | Symbiartic, Scientific American Blog Network

Permanent Address: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/symbiartic/2014/01/15/scientists-discover-the-very-first-hipster/

Scientists Discover the Very First Hipster

ByKalliopiMonoyios| January15,2014

Youveseenthecartoonbefore:afishhoistingitselfuponlandwithitsfrontfins, beinggreetedwithsomesnarkysignlike,Evolveatyourownrisk,orsomething similar.Thisfishhasbecomeameme,somuchsothatwhenthediscoveryof Tiktaalikroseae,a375millionyearoldfossilthatdisplaysamixoffishand tetrapodcharacters,wasannouncedin2006bythelabIwasworkinginatthe UniversityofChicago,IthoughtIdstartamovementwiththegeekiestversionof theDarwinfishever:

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The world's geekiest version of the Darwin fish bumper sticker. Too bad it's WRONG!

Well,wouldntyaknowit,thatpeskythingcalledprogresshasunseatedthefrontwheeldriveversionoflifeinvadinglandand replaceditwithsomethingmuchmorewell,hipster.Moreevidenceisin,andTiktaalik,itseems,wasbuiltlikeanoldVolvowith rearwheeldrive. AnewpaperintheJanuary13thearlyeditionofPNASdescribesTiktaaliksnewlydiscoveredtailend,completewithabeautifully preservedpelvicboneandpartialhindfinfromthesamespecimenthatmadeheadlinesin2006.Finally,anearcompleteimageof Tiktaalikisemerging:

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Scientists Discover the Very First Hipster | Symbiartic, Scientific American Blog Network

Tiktaalik reconstruction Kalliopi Monoyios

Whatissoincredibleaboutthisfindisadelightfuldetailofthepelvis.Thehipsocketissmoothandroundaballandsocketjoint thatsuggeststhehindfinhadquiteawiderangeofmotion.Thisisunliketheshoulderjointwhichhasanoblongshapewithanangled facetthatwouldhavepreventedthefrontfinfromrotatingupandaround.Judgingbyfossildataalone,thefrontfinswererobustand capableofsupportingweightbuttheywereprobablynothelpingTiktaalikwalklikeanamphibianonlandwithoutsomeseriousbody drag.Thehindfinswerealsoquitestrongandclearlyplayedapartinholdingupthebeast.Butwhatoftheballandsockethipjoint? Thetroublewithfossilsisthattheyreterriblystatic.Wecanlearnalotaboutwhatwasphysicallypossiblefromlookingatthe anatomy,butwecanneverhotwireafossilintomovingagain,andwecertainlycantobservetheirbehaviorsintheirnatural environment.Butthisiswhereinterdisciplinarystudiescanbesopowerful. UpstairsfromNeilShubinspaleontologylabattheUniversityofChicagoin2010wasagraduatestudentnamedHeatherKing.King wasstudyingthebiomechanicsofAfricanlungfishandhadriggedupalong,thinaquariumwhereshecouldfilmthelungfishasthey didwhatlungfishdo(spoileralert:notmuch).Veryoccasionally,shenoticedabizarrebehavior:thelungfishwouldusetheirwhip likehindfinstowalkalongthebottomofthetank.

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Scientists Discover the Very First Hipster | Symbiartic, Scientific American Blog Network

ItwasatapresentationtoheradvisorycommitteethatKingfirstrevealedthisbehavior,andShubinandanotheradviserfamiliarwith Tiktaalikspelvis,MichaelCoates,nearlyfainted.Lungfish,afterall,areoneofTiktaaliksclosestlivingrelatives,beingpartofagroup offishknownaslobefinnedfish(mostofthefishyoucanthinkoftuna,goldfish,blobfish,chubbelongtoadifferentgroup,the rayfins).Suddenly,theroundhipsocketofTiktaalikcamesharplyintofocus.WouldTiktaalikhavebeencapableofwalkingalongthe bottomofastreamwithitshindfinslikeitscousinthelungfish?WasTiktaalikarearwheeldrivebeast? Andwiththatrevelation,Ideclareitstimeforanewmeme:

Rear-wheel drive fish by Ed Heck, http://edheck.com

Articlescited: NeilH.Shubin,EdwardB.Daeschler,&FarishA.Jenkins,Jr.(2014).ThePelvicGirdleandFinofTiktaalikroseaePNAS: 10.1073/pnas.1322559111 KingHM,ShubinNH,CoatesMI,&HaleME(2011).Behavioralevidencefortheevolutionofwalkingandboundingbefore terrestrialityinsarcopterygianfishes.ProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciencesoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica,108(52), 2114651PMID:22160688

AbouttheAuthor:KalliopiMonoyiosistheillustratorofseveralbestsellingsciencebooksincludingNeilShubin'sTheUniverseWithin,ShubinsYourInnerFish,and JerryCoynesWhyEvolutionisTrue.Herillustrationportfoliocanbefoundatkalliopimonoyios.com.FollowhersoloonTwitterat@eyeforscience.Fortweetsfromthe wholeSymbiarticcrew,FollowonTwitter@symbiartic. More

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