Discovery of a Living Crossopterygian Fish

Abstract

THE discovery of a, living crossopterygian fish of the order Actinistia, described and illustrated on p. 455, is an event of outstanding importance. There can be no doubt that Dr. J. L. B. Smith, who is to describe this specimen, is correct in placing it in the family Ccelacanthidse, of which it would appear to be a typical member. In some respects, the present specimen seems to bear a closer resemblance to genera of the early Mesozoic era such as Undina than to the later coelacanths of the Macropoma type from the Upper Cretaceous. The fact that no traces of fossils referable to this family have been found in rocks later than those of the Cretaceous period makes the discovery of a living representative in South African seas even more remarkable. It is stated that the skeleton of the living fish was found to be cartilaginous and the vertebral column apparently tubular. In the fossils the central part of the vertebral column has disappeared, and was probably cartilaginous, but the noural and haemal spines were ossified. A unique feature of the fossil crelacanths is the ossified air-bladder, which can be seen clearly in many specimens, and it will be of interest to learn whether this character was observed in the living fish. The photograph of the South African fish seems to show paired nostrils just in front of the eye; but this is another feature of which we must await confirmation. Dr. Smith's detailed report will be awaited with great interest by zoologists and palaeontologists alike, and it is little short of a tragedy that the unfortunate disposal of the body of the fish after skinning will make this report very far from complete. An article relating to the discovery of this fish by Dr. E. I. White, of the British Museum (Natural History), accompanied by a large photograph, appeared in the Illustrated London News of March 11.