Teaching Louisiana Students About Evolution by Comparing the Anatomy of Fishes and Humans

Abstract

Students in my Ichthyology class sometimes complain I talk about evolution too much: but my Evolution class never complains that I’m talking about fishes too much. I think in the latter case I make an argument about evolution that they normally don’t hear: The human body sucks—and because most of our body parts originated in an aquatic environment, these parts suit fishes much better. For students that have the preconceived notion that humans are at the top of some imaginary evolutionary ladder, the fact that their professor is arguing that fishes might be better than humans—in anything— is perplexing. But this little seed of disbelief starts them on the path to understanding that evolution results in a Tree of Life where humans are just a single tiny and young branch, and not a “Ladder of Life” with humans sitting firmly on top far removed from the rest of the animals.