Living Fossil: The Story of the Coelacanth [Paperback]

Keith Stewart Thomson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393308685 | ISBN-13: 978-0393308686 | Publication Date: July 17, 1992 | Edition: 1st

"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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 1938 discovery of a strange, five-foot, 250-pound fish off the coast of South Africa excited the scientific community worldwide. Identified as Latimeria chalumnae , a coelacanth, the fish was previously known only in the fossil record of the Cretaceous period. In 1952 a second specimen was caught in the western Indian Ocean off the Comoro Islands, then a French territory. The authorities allowed only French scientists access to the fish, but after the islands' independence in the mid-'70s, the fish became more widely available for research. Thomson, director of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, studied the first fresh-frozen specimen and has written an intriguing biological detective story, tracing the coelacanth's morphology and biology, and placing it in the evolutionary scale. Illustrations.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The study of coelacanths, the "living fossils" of the popular press, provides an ideal opportunity for examining various facets of scientific research itself. Thomson does an admirable job of using the 1938 discovery of a fish thought to be extinct for 70 million years and the subsequent collection and examination of this remarkable species to track the research process and the influence of such variables as personality and nationality. The importance of the coelacanth to the study of evolution is clearly presented for general readers (except for the discussion of the intricacies of fish classification). But this shortcoming does not preclude a recommendation for this book, which should prove popular in general and specialized science collections.
- Susan Klimley, Columbia Univ. Libs.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (July 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393308685
• ISBN-13: 978-0393308686
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ichthyology
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Fish & Sharks
  • #97 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ichthyology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative and wonderfully written but dated, February 7, 2005

By 

Jack Wild (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living Fossil: The Story of the Coelacanth (Paperback)

Keith S. Thomson's book is truly a marvelous piece of scientific writing. It seamlessly integrates the stories of the eccentric personalities involved in first identifing and classifying the coelacanth, the odd history of coelacanth evolution and what we know about coelacanth physiology and behavior. "Living Fossil" is both meticulously researched and a joy to read.

The only problem with Thomson's work is that the book was released in 1991 (at least the edition I've read), and in 1997 a new species of ceolacanth was found in Sulawesi, Indonesia (quite distant from the first species' habitat in the Comoros Islands!) The book is still a compelling read, but a more contemporary book is suggested for information on Latimeria menadoensis, the most recently discovered of the coelacanth species.

11 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the dark itching, March 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Living Fossil: The Story of the Coelacanth (Paperback)

to be perfectly honest, i haven't exactly read this book. it matters not. and anyway, i just ordered the dang thing, so i'll read it soon enough. am i the only poor asshead in the world with a credit card, internet access, poor impulse control, and a fascination with ugly prehistoric fish?