Walker, Sally M. Fossil Fish Found Alive: Discovering the Coelacanth. 2002. 72p. ISBN 978-1-57505-536-8. Available at 597.3 WAL on the library shelves.
In the era of dinosaurs, a large fish with armored scales and a jaw able to spring forward and open wide enough to swallow a prey whole dwelled in the depths of the ocean. Fossils of this fish, named coelacanth, were found in several places. It had strange pelvic fins resembling legs, as well as two dorsal fins. It had an extra fin placed at the end of the tail. This fish would have moved slowly but could have been able to maneuver better than most. And, like most dinosaurs, it was thought to be extinct.
Until, that is, in 1938, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, the director of the East London Museum in South Africa, received a startling fish delivered from a local captain. With armored scales, extra fins that resembled legs, and a strange tail, she wasn’t sure what she was looking at, but she remembered from her studies she was looking at something very old, if not prehistoric. She tried to preserve the dead fish as well as she could, and she contacted a local ichthyologist, a fish expert. After examining what was left of the fish, as well as the pictures Courtenay-Latimer took, J. L. B. Smith knew he was looking at something truly unique: a coelacanth, a prehistoric fish that first appeared on Earth hundreds of millions of years ago. Here was the proof that this fish has somehow survived the death of the dinosaurs and the rise of humanity.
What followed over the next 60 years was the fascinating chase to discover more about the coelacanth. Even today, after nearly eight decades following its first recorded appearance in modern times, we know very little about this ancient fish. A strange but true story, this book demonstrates that discoveries remain to be found. It will also passionate readers with a scientific curiosity.
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