Discovery of the Coelacanth

Marine Biology & Oceanography 1938

Discoverers: Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, J.L.B. Smith

Overview

Identification of a living coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae), a fish previously known only from fossils and thought to have been extinct for 66 million years.

Significance

Provided a living window into vertebrate evolution and demonstrated that the fossil record can dramatically underestimate species persistence.

Methodology

Recognition of an unusual fish in a trawler's catch off South Africa by museum curator Courtenay-Latimer, confirmed by ichthyologist Smith.

Impact