khoji parkDiscovery · East London · 1938
A South African Fishing Catch Changed What Scientists Knew About Coelacanths
How a trawler catch in South Africa revealed a supposed prehistoric creature
Read in slides1. A Strange Catch
On December 23, 1938, trawler captain Hendrik Goosen returned to port in East London, South Africa, after a fishing trip. He set aside a strange steely blue fish for his friend Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, the curator of a local museum. Goosen instructed his crew to handle the unusual creature with care. Courtenay-Latimer inspected the specimen when the ship docked at the harbor.
She searched her books for a matching description without success.
2. Recognition by Expert
Unable to preserve the whole fish properly, Courtenay-Latimer sent it to a taxidermist to be mounted. When professor James Leonard Brierley Smith returned from holiday, he examined the specimen and immediately identified it. He recognized the creature as a coelacanth, a fish group previously known only from ancient fossils. Smith named the new species Latimeria chalumnae in honor of the curator.
The stuffed specimen lacked available gills and skeleton for study.
3. The Hunt for More
Because the first specimen was mounted, scientists lacked crucial anatomical parts to confirm its exact species classification. Smith began a lengthy search to find a second specimen of the elusive creature. He distributed thousands of illustrated flyers offering a substantial cash reward for any new captures. World War II interrupted these efforts for several years.
The search resumed across the Indian Ocean after the war ended.
4. Comoran Discovery
Fourteen years after the initial find, a second specimen was captured in the Comoro Islands by a local fisherman. The islanders were puzzled by the large reward for a fish they called a gombessa. Local fishermen occasionally caught the oily, nearly inedible creatures by mistake. The specimen was rushed to South Africa for formal scientific examination.
Researchers confirmed it belonged to the same zoological order.
5. Anomalous Anatomy
The second specimen initially presented confusing differences compared to the first coelacanth found in South Africa. Scientists observed that it lacked a first dorsal fin, leading to temporary classification as a distinct species. Further investigation revealed the missing fin resulted from an injury early in life. Additional specimens were subsequently caught in the region.
Comoran fishermen gradually learned the significance of the catches.
6. Photographic Record
In 1987, Hans Fricke and colleagues observed living coelacanths from the research submersible Geo near the Comoros. Watching the fish underwater supplied evidence of their movements and habitat that preserved specimens could not provide. The team recorded individuals at depths beyond ordinary shore observation, extending the investigation from the identity of a landed fish to its behaviour in the sea.
Submersible observations showed the fish moving in its natural habitat.
7. Indonesian Surprises
On September 18, 1997, tourists Arnaz and Mark Erdmann observed an unusual brown fish entering a market in Sulawesi, Indonesia. An expert spotted their photographs online and recognized the potential significance of the catch. Researchers subsequently asked local fishermen to watch for additional specimens in the area. A live specimen was captured a year later.
This second Indonesian specimen lived for six hours in captivity.
8. Genetic Divergence
DNA testing revealed that the Indonesian population differed genetically from the Comorian coelacanths. Scientists described the new species as Latimeria menadoensis in 1999 following detailed morphological analysis. The skin coloration of the Indonesian species appeared brownish-gray rather than bluish. Molecular studies estimated the divergence between the two distinct species occurred millions of years ago.
Geographic isolation drove the separation of the two lineages.
9. Lifespan Discoveries
French researchers analyzed annual growth marks on preserved scales from museum specimens in 2021. Their study indicated that coelacanths could live for up to a century, matching deep-sea sharks. The analysis also suggested the fish reached sexual maturity very late in life. Females experienced an unusually long gestation period lasting up to five years.
These slow life history traits heightened extinction vulnerability risks.
10. Conservation Status
Smith identified the 1938 fish as a living coelacanth, and another specimen from the Comoros in 1952 helped establish where more could be found. The later identification of an Indonesian species added a separate surviving lineage. The original catch had changed a conclusion about survival, rather than bringing an extinct individual back to life. It was a living animal landed by a fishing crew.
A second catch helped locate the living population.