Older Than Dinosaurs: S African Coelacanths Threatened By Oil Drilling

"Just 30 of the prehistoric fish known to exist, raising fears oil wells will push it to extinction"

"Bright blue, older than dinosaurs and weighing as much as an average-sized man, coelacanths are the most endangered fish in South Africa and among the rarest in the world.

Barely 30 of these critically-endangered fish are known to exist off the east coast of South Africa, raising concern that a new oil exploration venture in the area could jeopardise their future.

Coelacanths, whose shape has remained almost unchanged for 420m years, captured world attention when the first living specimen was caught off the port city of East London in 1938. This discovery was followed by the subsequent capture of several more off the Comoros islands in the early 1950s, confirming that coelacanths were definitely not extinct."

Tony Carnie reports for the Guardian August 17, 2018.

Source: Guardian, 08/17/2018