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Here's an old story which, like it subject, won't go away. The NY Post devotes an entire page to Latimeria chalumnae, the Ceolacanth. This was big news in the 30s, but apparently a new book is dredging up interest again. Now I understand why Volkswagen used this "living fossil" as the hook in a recent commercial. The fish appears closely related to the Crossopterygians, or lobe-finned fishes, whose fleshy fins are assumed to be ancestral to our limbs (check 'em out at this site). The image of lung fish conquering the land (bottom of page) has become an icon of our secular origin story, i.e. evolution. Latimeria lacks lungs, but is in many respects quite similar to our Devonian ancestors. The lady who lent her name to the fish is now 92, and grumpy about the whole thing. She should take a lesson from all those 60s TV stars who spent years complaining about being trapped by their roles, but are now happily taking them to the bank.
- alex 3-29-2000 1:19 pm [link] [3 refs] [4 comments]