PRESS RELEASE

May 13, 2011

MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Lowe, (513) 287-7054 office, (513) 373-3242 mobile, slowe@cincymuseum.org

World renowned paleontologist visits Cincinnati Museum Center
Fishapod discoverer gives free lecture May 19, 7:30 p.m.

CINCINNATI - Can you imagine a time when fish had legs? Discover the fishier side of evolution when world renowned paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, Neil Shubin, Ph.D., visits Cincinnati Museum Center on Thursday, May 19.

Shubin, paleontologist and author of Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5- Billion-Year History of the Human Body, is the distinguished lecturer for our 2011 Insights Lecture Series. Shubin is also a professor of anatomy at the University of Chicago and provost at the Field Museum.

Shubin’s discovery, Tiktaalik roseae, has been dubbed the “missing link” between fish and land animals. With a combination of primitive fish and derived tetrapod characteristics, Tiktaalik has been characterized as a “fishapod” by Shubin. It is believed that these creatures were weight bearing, due to the basic wrist bones and simple fingers located in the fins.

Shubin will give a public lecture about his discovery at Museum Center on May 19. Free tickets are available first come, first serve, beginning at 6 p.m. at the cocktail reception in the Museum of Natural History & Science. The reception is open to the public and includes a cash bar. The lecture is at 7:30 p.m. in the Reakirt Auditorium, with a book signing to follow. Books are available for purchase at Museum Center.

Shubin discovered the 375 million-year-old fossilized fish in the Canadian Arctic in 2004, alongside Edward Daeschler, Ph.D., of the Academy of Natural Sciences and Harvard University Professor Farish Jenkins, Jr., Ph.D. The fossil was found in rocks formed from Late Devonian river sediments. A replica of the fishapod is now on display in our Museum of Natural History & Science. Museum Center is one of only a few institutions around the nation with a replica of this fossil.

Museum Center gratefully acknowledges support from the Department of Geology at the University of Cincinnati for this event.

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About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized institution dedicated to sparking community dialogue, insight and inspiration. As one of the top cultural attractions in the Midwest, Cincinnati Museum Center has served as an educational, research and entertainment resource to millions of visitors from around the world. Organizations within Museum Center include the Cincinnati History Museum, Duke Energy Children's Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science, the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, and the Cincinnati Historical Society Library. These organizations combine to serve more than one million visitors annually, reaching out to nearly 400,000 young people through hands-on exhibits and programs. Originally built in 1933 as a train station, Union Terminal stands as one of the last remaining grand-scale Art Deco style railroad terminals. The building is a National Historic Landmark and was renovated and reopened as Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990. For information, call 1-800-733-2077 or visit www.cincymuseum.org.