For decades, the coelacanthexisted only in fossil records—until one turned up in a South African fishing net. It was 1938 ...

But this one was alive. An unusual fish On 22 December 1938 ... Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum in South Africa, stands beside the coelacanth specimen found in 1938.

They inhabit ocean caves, beyond human interference.Any coelacanth sighting is a ray of hope for scientists. They hope that species believed to be extinct can still be found in the ocean.

The coelacanth is ovoviviparous, meaning that eggs are fertilized internally and are retained in the mother's oviduct so that the young are born alive. Pups—26 were found in one mother—develop ...