Face to face with a living coelacanth

[oldbrownhat]

Any deep divers on the Forum? Not me, but I found this BBC article fascinating. The video clip in the article, about the diver/marine biologist, Laurent Ballesta, has some stunning, other-worldly footage of the marine life he's found deep down, often using an electronically-controlled rebreather.

Thanks to Ballesta's work, we now know the coelacanth is among the longest-living fish species, with a lifespan of around 100 years, and has one of the slowest life histories of all marine fish – so, like deep-sea sharks with a reduced metabolism, the coelacanth grows slowly, taking as long as 69 years to reach sexual maturity, and with a gestation period of around five years.

In 2010 four friends, carrying 32kg (71lb) worth of camera equipment, sunk beneath the waves of Sodwana Bay, off the east coast of South Africa. It was then that photographer, Laurent Ballesta stared directly into the eyes of a creature once thought to have died out with the dinosaurs – and took the first ever photograph of a living coelacanth.​

In 2010, Laurent Ballesta took the first photograph of a living coelacanth alongside diver, Cédric Gentil (Credit: Laurent Ballesta/Andromede Oceanologie)

 

[DWalt]

They were thought to have been long extinct as only fossils were known until 1938 when one live example was netted. Since then, several more have been caught, some of a slightly different species. They inhabit very deep water and no one knows how many may still be alive in the wild. But at least they are not yet extinct.

 

[Rudi]

There are many secrets still to discover.

 

[oldbrownhat]

They were thought to have been long extinct as only fossils were known until 1938 when one live example was netted. Since then, several more have been caught, some of a slightly different species. They inhabit very deep water and no one knows how many may still be alive in the wild. But it least they are not yet extinct.

The article reminded me that about a year after I got out of HS, a friend and I went to the Stanley Park Aquarium in Vancouver (BC), where they had recently acquired a preserved coelacanth. Brian said, in mock indignation, "So, where's the coelacanth?" Turned the corner and there it was, in a large glass display. It's still there, over 50 years later:

 

[handejector]

Recipes??????

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

Or Fines????

 

[s&wchad]

Recipes??????

 

[vt_shooter]

Recipes??????

coelacanth caviare ... yum

 

[ralph7]

I guess topwater baits might not be too successful...

 

[swsig]

I guess topwater baits might not be too successful...

I'll bet some of our members could answer that, as they were probably angling for coelacanths when they were a new species.

 

[Rustyt1953]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V_zFG9S8MFs[/ame]

 

[s&wchad]

I guess topwater baits might not be too successful...

I'll bet some of our members could answer that, as they were probably angling for coelacanths when they were a new species.

Who you calling old, you dang whipper snapper...

 

[Rustyt1953]

I'll bet some of our members could answer that, as they were probably angling for coelacanths when they were a new species.

There's a lot to be said for carbon dating.

 

[swsig]

Who you calling old, you dang whipper snapper...

There's a lot to be said for carbon dating.

It's true, I'm only 80, which makes me slightly younger than average for the Forum.

 

[oldbrownhat]

It's true, I'm only 80, which makes me slightly younger than average for the Forum.

Not to mention younger than the average coelacanth

 

[oldbrownhat]

The coelacanth in the article pic is probably wondering, "What the heck is this primitive creature, with all that apparatus strapped to it?"

 

[Telecaster]

There's a lot to be said for carbon dating.

You dated her too?

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[jeffrefrig]

So much to learn in a firearm Forum.
Oh, and I heard a #6 hook with salmon eggs works well...and two miles of string.

 

[Telecaster]

Now we'll have to buy Coelacanth-free tuna.