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In 1969 Dr. Don McAllister, then Curator of Fishes for the Canadian Museum of Nature, requested the purchase of a coelacanth specimen for research and display. He intended to investigate whether a second species besides the Latimeria chalumnae had been accurately identified. The specimen of the living species could be compared to the Nature's fossil coelacanths.
X-rays and careful measurements were taken and compared with measurements of 11 specimens in the Musée d'Histoire Naturelle of Paris and the American Museum of Natural History. The study also included statistical analysis of meristic characters, which are countable physical features such as the number of fin rays or scales. Dr. McAllister and his research colleague, Dr. Clarence Smith of the American Museum of Natural History, concluded that there was (at the time) only one known species of living coelacanth, and published a paper in Le Naturaliste Canadien in 1978 making this argument.
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Uncrated by Don McAllister moments before these pictures were taken in 1969, the coelacanth smelled stronger than the pungent 10% formalin solution preserving the fish.
Catalogue: CMNFI1969-0112 |
The population found decades later near Indonesia was determined to be of a distinct species, which was accordingly named Latimeria menadoensis in 1999.
Dr. McAllister first proposed the hypothesis that the mysterious rostral organ is an electro-receptor. The rostral organ is a jelly-filled chamber in the snout that opens through pores on either side. Although deep habitat and the difficulty of maintaining specimens have made investigation of this organ difficult, studies have supported the theory. |
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