The Upright Ape: A New Origin of the Species
by Aaron G. Filler, MD, PhD
Figure 3-1 Geoffroy's Discovery and Drawing of Polypterus
Figure 3-1 – Geoffroy’s Figure of Polypterus
The discovery of this fish that could breathe air with its lungs and could pull itself along on dry land with its four fins was one of the great events of 19th century science and probably played a greater role than any other event in the eventual emergence of the theory of evolution sixty years later.
From: France. Commission des sciences et arts d'Egypte. (1821). Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des Observations et des Recherches qui ont été Faites en Égypte Pendant l'Expédition de l'Armée Française. Paris, Imprimerie de C.L.F. Panckoucke.