quote · Legacy record
We are here because one odd group of fishes had a peculiar fin anatomy that could transform into legs for terrestrial creatures; because the earth never froze entirely during an ice age; because a small and tenuous species, arising in Africa a quarter of a million years ago, has managed, so far, to survive by hook and by crook. We may yearn for a ‘higher answer’– but none exists
We are here because one odd group of fishes had a peculiar fin anatomy that could transform into legs for terrestrial creatures; because the earth never froze entirely during an ice age; because a small and tenuous species, arising in Africa a quarter of a million years ago, has managed, so far, to survive by hook and by crook. We may yearn for a ‘higher answer’– but none exists
Approximate author period: c. 1971 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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- Author or tradition
- Stephen Jay Gould
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1971 AD · modern
Approximate author-period evidence for Stephen Jay Gould: life dates 1941 to 2002. Wikidata Q180619, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q180619 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 61648; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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