French team in new quest to study 'living fossil'

[The Straight Story]

French team in new quest to study 'living fossil'

French and South African biologists will dive to deep-sea caves in the Indian Ocean next month in a bid to locate the coelacanth, the "living fossil" fish whose history predates the dinosaurs, France's National Museum of Natural History said on Friday.

The "Gombessa" expedition, named after a local term for the coelacanth, will run from April 5th to May 15th, exploring locations in the Jesser Canyon, 120 metres (390 feet) below the waters of Sodwana Bay, where the strange fish is believed to live.

A fossilised skull described last April by Chinese paleontologists dates the first coelacanths to 375 million years ago.

...

But almost nothing is known about how it lives -- its habitat, food and reproduction.

http://www.thelocal.fr/page/view/french-biologists-in-new-quest-to-study-living-fossil#.UViQxzegSSo

More of our tax dollars to research, learning, helping people - and less for war - just a dream I and others have. And would help if our media spent more time reporting on science and less time on celebrities.

[rog]

1. Amazing film of a living coelacanth.

... along with lots of interesting info.

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Coelacanth-Latimeria-chalumnae-Smith-1939

Don't miss this ... really spellbinding footage.

.rog.

[DollarBillHines]

8. That video is fascinating

I can only imagine what it must have felt like to be that close to that fish.

[xchrom]

2. Du rec. Nt

[shenmue]

3. That's awesome

Yes, learning is better than war.

[Tikki]

4. There's a reason that this fish has been around a while...we need to know this.

Tikki

[Initech]

5. Why not? We have Rush Limbaugh - he's a living fossil.

[Plucketeer]

7. Trouble with studyin' Rush is....

He inhabits greater depths than this ancient fish. Rush is lower than whale shit - a point he proves whenever he bellies up to a mic.

[Initech]

9. With him shit comes out of both ends.

Mulder: His jiggaling is almost hypnotic.
Scully: Yes. Like a lava lamp.

[Bosonic]

6. My favorite living fossil is Araucaria Araucana

Weird & Spikey, can't help but picture dinosaurs nibbling on them...