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.

This book evaluates the reputation of the coelacanth, presenting up-to-date accounts of the structure of fossil coelacanths, and suggests a family history to show that there have been subtle but significant changes in coelacanth history.

Describes the 1938 discovery of the coelacanth, a fish previously believed to be extinct, and subsequent research about it.

Describes the physical characteristics of a fish that is thought to have lived 400 million years ago.

The purpose of this book is to give an account of the life and times of a single species of fish, Latimeria chalumnae- the coelacanth (or are there now two species?). Before the discovery of the modern Latimeria, relationships of the coelacanths were thought to lie with the rhipidistians, a group of fossil fishes that many think are tetrapod ancestors. Hence, by looking at the modern coelacanth and assuming conservatism we may be able to reconstruct the life of the 'missing link' between fishes and tetrapods. The coelacanth is the only living animal to retain some structuralcharacteristics that were certainly present in the tetrapod ancestors, such as the intracranial joint. Therefore it is of some interest to try and find out how this joint works and what it is there for. The gene pool of the coelacanth has been separated from that of all other living vertebrates for at least 360 million years. Therefore, it is of some interest to find out how much deviation from contemporaneous fishes there has been. Coelacanths have often been used as the classic example of a particular evolutionary pattern whereby evolution is very fast in the early years and then slows down to stability and finally stagnation. This needs to be evaluated in the light of what we now know of the history of the coelacanths as a genetic lineage.

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.

Examines the coelacanth, a type of fish that scientists thought had become extinct during the time of dinosaurs, until a live one was discovered in 1938.