The Amazing Coelacanth

This colourful illustrated children’s book is aimed at ages 9-14. It recounts the discovery of the first coelacanth in modern times – a fish that had been thought to be extinct for many millions of years, and was known only from its fossil record. In 1939, a specimen was hauled ashore in a fishing net off the South African coast near East London, and its identification as a coelacanth made world news. Chemistry professor JLB Smith identifed the fish and dedicated the rest of his life to searchin