We all know that humans evolved from apes, but do you know what apes evolved from? The answer may surprise you, and that is fish! Yes, you heard it right, our ancestors used to be fish that lived in water, and it took hundreds of millions of years to evolve into land mammals, and eventually into humans.
How did this evolutionary process happen? What evidence is there to prove it? Today, we're going to uncover the secrets of this amazing evolutionary process for you, and show you the transitional fossils that connect fish and humans, and how they tell us the story of life.
review
To understand the relationship between fish and humans, we have to go back to an important period in Earth's history, the Paleogene period, about 66 million years ago to 23 million years ago, which was the period after the extinction of the dinosaurs. During this period, life on Earth changed dramatically, and many new species appeared, including flesh-finned fish and tetrapods.
Flesh-finned fish are a special type of fish that have a central axial bone in their fins and have distinct musculature, which is directly related to the limbs of tetrapods. In search of a new place to live, the flesh-finned fish began to experiment with land movements, gradually evolving lungs and limbs, and eventually became the ancestors of tetrapods.
Tetrapods continue to diverge into different groups, such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Another group of mammals decided to return to the ocean and evolved into whales. The other evolved into primates, and eventually humans. Thus, we can say that fishes are our distant relatives, whales are our close relatives, and apes are our immediate relatives.
effect
The impact of this evolutionary process is enormous, altering not only the biodiversity of the planet, but also the ecosystems of the planet. Thanks to the advent of flesh-finned fish and tetrapods, the ecological niche of both land and water has been fully utilized, new food chains and food webs have been formed, and the interactions between organisms have become more complex. At the same time, this evolutionary process also laid the foundation for the emergence of humans, highly intelligent beings who were able to use tools, language, and culture to adapt and modify their environment, having a profound impact on other organisms on Earth.
Different people may have different opinions about the relationship between fish and humans. Some may find it a marvelous miracle of the diversity and adaptability of life, as well as our connection and common origin with other living beings. Some may feel that this is a terrible fact that breaks our sense of superiority and particularity over ourselves, as well as our awe and respect for nature.
Some may feel that this is an inconsequential issue that does not affect our daily lives and values, nor does it affect our perceptions and attitudes towards ourselves and others. No matter what kind of opinion you hold, we should respect scientific facts and evidence, as well as different opinions and ideas, only in this way can we better understand ourselves and the world.