Description
Examines the political, scientific, and financial battles that followed the 1938 discovery of the coelacanth, an evolutionary link between fish and reptiles believed to be extinct, and discusses the impact of the discovery.
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<p>The coelacanth (see-lo-canth) is no ordinary fish. Five feet long, with luminescent eyes and limb like fins, this bizarre creature, presumed to be extinct, was discovered in 1938 by an amateur icthyologist who recognized it from fossils dating back 400 million years. The discovery was immediately dubbed the "greatest scientific find of the century," but the excitement that ensued was even more incredible. This is the entrancing story of that most rare and precious fish -- our own great-uncle forty million times removed.</p>
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