Paul Allen Lends Personal ROV To Study Coelacanths 32
crudmonkey writes "It took a custom-made submarine, billionaire Paul Allen, and a tenacious desire lasting well beyond two decades to unveil enigmatic details about the life of the coelacanth—the primitive fish that invariably hooks researchers. A study published earlier this year in the journal Marine Biology summarizes 21 years of coelacanth population research."
Good stuff! (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm extremely excited and I'll tell you why (lucky you).
When I was attending grade school in the1960's I came across a book in the school library that described, with pictures, this creature found alive sometime in the '30s which had been previously thought by man to be long extinct. I don't think there was another kid who found this even remotely interesting, but I was spellbound. I never lost this fascination and over the years occasionally thought about this strange and reclusive creature, and if it had in fact survived.
Fast forward to 1998. I was working in a bicycle shop in a small out of the way resort town and the owners had managed to hire a talented bike guy from another state they met on the phone through business.
Soon after he showed up, I noticed a small tattoo he had just above one of his ankles. It was quite unusual but somehow familiar. I knelt on the floor and took a closer look. Are you kidding me?? It was a Coelacanth!! We exchanged stories about our experiences of youthful discovery and quickly bonded.
Fast forward to yesterday. I saw the Paul Allen/Coelacanth story somewhere and followed the links. Paul Allen should not get as much credit as the media apparently thinks he deserves.
Go here for the full story:
http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1114-ucsc-west_coelacanth.html
And here for history and up to date info on the Coelacanth, including video!:
http://www.arkive.org/coelacanth/latimeria-chalumnae/video-00.html#text=All
My friend in coelacanth still works at the bike shop, but I have moved on. I emailed him and know he'll be as excited as I am. I may have to get a tattoo and keep the love alive. Brotherhood of the Coelacanth, anyone?