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-- C o e l a c a n t h --
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| Q 1. | ||
| Why is there so much excitement over the Coelacanth fish which was recently caught off the coast of South Africa? |
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| Q 2. | ||
| Recently I read where scientists said that a fish that was caught off the coast of Africa was 300 million years old. Will you tell me how this is possible? |
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| Q 3. | ||
| What is the scientific significance of the recent discovery of Coelacanths or “living fossil” fish off the southwest African coast? |
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| Q 4. | ||
| Have coelacanths, the so-called “living fossil,” been found in any region other than around Madagascar? |
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| Q 5. | ||
| I have read of the coelacanth fish which was found off the coast of Africa 70 million years after it was thought to be extinct. Is this a record for the longest time that any species has existed in the sea without change? |
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| Q&A 1. | Why is there so much excitement over the Coelacanth fish which was recently caught off the coast of South Africa? |
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| Coelacanths (pronounced See-la-canths) or lobe-fins are a strange group of fishes that appeared 300 million years ago and until very recently were believed to have been extinct for at least 50 million years. One of the greatest surprises in the field of science came about when a living Coelacanth was captured off the southern coast of Africa in 1937. Named Latimeria chalumnae, this fish remained the only one of its kind until a new species, Malania anjouanae, was captured by a native fisherman off a tiny island near Madagascar. The ancient Order of Crossopterygian fishes, to which the Coelacanths belong, are believed by scientists to be the common ancestor of modern fishes and land vertebrates. The excitement is due to the fact that the capture of the fish is about equivalent to the sudden appearance of a live dinosaur in Louisiana or North Carolina. |
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| Q&A 2. | Recently I read where scientists said that a fish that was caught off the coast of Africa was 300 million years old. Will you tell me how this is possible? Toledo, Ohio |
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| This particular fish, Latimeria chalumnae, belongs to a specialized offshoot of fishes which were known to exist approximately 300 million years ago. Until recently they were believed to be extinct, and the finding of the present specimens is comparable to the finding of a living dinosaur in the jungles of South America. Actually, of course, the fish is not 300 million years old, but belongs to a group of animals that have been in existence for over 300 million years. |
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| Q&A 3. | What is the scientific significance of the recent discovery of Coelacanths or “living fossil” fish off the southwest African coast? Miami, Florida |
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| Scientists believe that higher forms of life have developed from more primitive forms - this process is called evolution. One important step in the evolution was the passage of animals from water to land. In order to make this change of habitat an animal needed a structure that could develop into a leg or foot and the Coelacanth has such a structure. From fossil remains scientists long ago deduced that the supposedly extinct Coelacanth possessed a fleshy rather than a membranous fin. With the amazing discovery of a living Coelacanth off the southwest African coast in December 1952, the deductions from fossil evidence have been confirmed. An Italian zoological expedition which has been investigating the waters around the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean, believes there are many Coelacanths in that area. An underwater picture taken by this expedition was described by experts as a photograph of an immature living Coelacanth about two feet long. |
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| Q&A 4. | Have coelacanths, the so-called “living fossil,” been found in any region other than around Madagascar? North Miami, Florida |
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| Coelacanths have been taken only in the area of the Comoro Islands, Madagascar. Since the first was caught, nearly a dozen more have been collected, all in the same general region. Two names were assigned, but there is only one true species. It may be anticipated that coelacanths will be found along the South African coast in suitable waters and perhaps in other regions of the Indian Ocean. On the basis of present knowledge of current patterns, it is not expected that any will be found in the Atlantic. |
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| Q&A 5. | I have read of the coelacanth fish which was found off the coast of Africa 70 million years after it was thought to be extinct. Is this a record for the longest time that any species has existed in the sea without change? Plymouth, England |
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| The coelacanths found in the past two decades off the coast of Africa belong to a group of fishes thought to be extinct a long time ago. However, it must be noted that the species has not survived unchanged. While basically coelocanths, the modern species has evolved sufficiently to be considered as belonging to a distinct family. The fossil record of the group to which it belongs does not extend beyond the Cretaceous period which ended from 60 to 70 million years ago. The living lungfish of Australia represents a family of earlier origin in the fossil record, and other examples could be cited. The importance of the discovery of a living coelacanth is that the group of lobe-finned fishes to which the coelacanths belong gave rise to the first land vertebrates, the primitive amphibians. |
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Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Library
University of Miami, FL USA 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149 Phone: 305 421 4060 Fax: 305 421 9306 E-mail: libcirc@rsmas.miami.edu |
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