Scientists explain why, how fish moved from water to land

Almost 400 million years ago, fish made the evolutionary leap from water to land. If they hadn’t, you might not be reading this sentence. Why? Because it led to more complex cognition.

A new study by Northwestern University professor Malcolm MacIver and Claremont Colleges professor Lars Schmitz discovered a near tripling of eye size might be what triggered the invasion of land. 

Watch MacIver and Schmitz discuss this process in detail in the video above.

Video credits:

Interview and b-roll footage by Northwestern's Kristin Samuelson and Mohamed Abdelfattah and Pitzer's communications team.

Animation written and produced by Kristin Pichaske. Animation by Kaleida Studio and Cartuna animators Julie Gratz, Kevin Ryan, Kinga Nagorka. Animation music and sound by Noah Pardo.