Fish Scales Tell Natural History Story

Northern Advocate, 18 September 1939, Page 4

Fish Scales Tell Natural History Story

Three small fish scales, which tell a story unique in natural history, are how in the Australian Museum, Sydney.

They were taken from a “living fossil” fish of a family which naturalists formerly believed had become extinct 50,000,000 years ago. A trawler was fishing last December in 40 fathoms.off East London, South Africa.

Among the catch was a brilliant blue fish, with big dark blue eyes, weighing 1271 b., and differing from modern fishes in having paddle-shaped fins. It was five feet long. Miss M. Courtnay-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum, recognised that the fish belonged to the family of the Coolacanths, of which only fossil remains have been unearthed in other parts of -. the world.

The family is an isolated type of the fringe-finned fish and flourished 300,000,000 years ago. The type is represented today in .a degenerate form by the lung fish of Queensland. Mr G. P. Whitney, of the Australian Museum, said that it was possible that specimens of this “living fossil” might be found in Australian waters. If so, he added, some American museum would probably be willing to offer an unfilled cheque for one. The fish is named Latimeria Chalumnae, in honour of Miss Latimer and the area in which it was netted.

Unfortunately, the dead fish was skinned and cleaned before a thorough scientific study could be made of it.