The Amazing Coelacanth

Download or read book The Amazing Coelacanth written by Mike Bruton and published by Penguin Random House South Africa. This book was released on 2018-04-01 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This colourful illustrated children’s book is aimed at ages 9-14. It recounts the discovery of the first coelacanth in modern times – a fish that had been thought to be extinct for many millions of years, and was known only from its fossil record. In 1939, a specimen was hauled ashore in a fishing net off the South African coast near East London, and its identification as a coelacanth made world news. Chemistry professor JLB Smith identifed the fish and dedicated the rest of his life to searching for live specimens and researching the science surrounding this evolutionary phenomenon. This book, by ichthyologist Mike Bruton, uncovers: the mystery of the coelacanth and the thrilling story of its discovery, its strange appearance and lifestyle, what makes it so special, how it evolved – and what this has to do with human evolution, how and what it eats, and who eats it. These and many other details provide insight into this amazing fish and its marine companions.

Download or read book Fossil Fish Found Alive written by Sally M. Walker and published by Carolrhoda Books. This book was released on 2002 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the 1938 discovery of the coelacanth, a fish previously believed to be extinct, and subsequent research about it.

Download or read book A Fish Caught in Time written by Samantha Weinberg and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2001-02-06 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Living Fossil: The Story of the Coelacanth written by Keith Stewart Thomson and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1992-07-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An engrossing tale of obsession, adventure and scientific reasoning." —Betty Ann Kevles, Los Angeles Times In the winter of 1938, a fishing boat by chance dragged from the Indian Ocean a fish thought extinct for 70 million years. It was a coelacanth, which thrived concurrently with dinosaurs and pterodactyls—an animal of major importance to those who study the history of vertebrate life. Living Fossil describes the life and habitat of the coelcanth and what scientists have learned about it during fifty years of research. It is an exciting and very human story, filled with ambitious and brilliant people, that reveals much about the practice of modern science.

Download or read book The Fishy Smiths written by Mike Bruton and published by Penguin Random House South Africa. This book was released on 2018-09-03 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discovery of the modern-day coelacanth will forever be linked with the name of JLB Smith. An intense, irascible, eccentric man, JLB (as he was widely known) and his long-suffering wife Margaret were both remarkable South African scientists who changed the course of the biological sciences. Best known for their research on the coelacanth, they also contributed in many other ways to the scientific study of fishes (ichthyology) and related fields. The first comprehensive biography about JLB and Margaret Smith. Traces their formative years and serendipitous meeting, leading up to the discovery of the coelacanth, and the tumultuous years that followed. Details their punitive work ethic, eccentric and rugged lifestyle, and their astonishingly productive lives. A story awash with adventure, travel, discovery, risk-taking, near-death experiences – and their extraordinary contribution to science. Illustrated with black-and-white images of the Smiths’ fascinating lives, as well as a 16-page colour section, Mike Bruton’s lively account fills a scientific and biographical niche and will become a classic of the South African scene. Sales points: Important biography of a famous South African couple, lively portrayal of colourful, eccentric, tumultuous lives, with contributions from many other scientists and personalities and illustrated with black-and-white images throughout, and a colour section.

Download or read book The Annotated Old Fourlegs written by Mike Bruton and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "When the famous South African fish scientist Professor JLB Smith published Old Fourlegs - The Story of the Coelacanth in 1956 he created an international sensation. After all, this 400-million-year-old fish, known only from fossil remains, was thought to have become extinct around 66 million years ago! JLB Smith's dramatic account of the discovery of the first and second coelacanths in 1938 and 1952 turned him into a cult figure and put South African science on the world map. His book was eventually published in six English editions and translated into nine foreign languages. Mike Bruton's The Annotated Old Fourlegs includes a facsimile reprint of the original book, to which he has added notes and images in the margins that provide an interesting and revealing commentary on Smith's text, as well as new introductory and explanatory chapters that bring the coelacanth story up to date" - Publisher's website.

Download or read book The Annotated Old Four Legs: The story of the coelacanth written by Mike Bruton and published by Penguin Random House South Africa. This book was released on 2017-11-01 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the famous South African fish scientist Professor JLB Smith published Old Fourlegs – The Story of the Coelacanth in 1956 he created an international sensation. After all, this 400-million-year-old fish, known only from fossil remains, was thought to have become extinct around 66 million years ago! JLB Smith’s dramatic account of the discovery of the first and second coelacanths in 1938 and 1952 turned him into a cult figure and put South African science on the world map. His book was eventually published in six English editions and translated into nine foreign languages. Mike Bruton’s The Annotated Old Fourlegs includes a facsimile reprint of the original book, to which he has added notes and images in the margins that provide an interesting and revealing commentary on Smith’s text, as well as new introductory and explanatory chapters that bring the coelacanth story up to date.