First photo of baby coelacanth

Above is the world's first photograph of a baby coelacanth, recently taken by Japanese researchers off Indonesia's Sulawesi Island. A cryptozoology favorite, coelacanths were thought to have been extinct for 65 million years until one was found alive in 1938.

"First Baby Coelacanth Photos Taken" (Cryptomundo)

"Aquarium snaps world's first photos of young coelacanth" (Japan Times)

• [JIMWICh]

  Fishstickin’ it old school…

• [Anonymous]

  OK, I don’t hang out with the ichtyologists these days (it’s a shame, though; Dominique Didier is totally hot. Rawwwrrr!) but I’d guess the laser lines allow the photographer to get scale without having to put a ruler in the picture next to the fish. Presumably they have a known… um… convergence? parallax?? whatever the word is.

  Usually you find a fish’s age by microtoming it’s earbones, a process that is lethal to the fish.

  Nice post, Pesco!

• [Anonymous]

  in other news, researchers report that it “tastes like chicken”!

• [Anonymous]

  This article made me curious about the rest of uncovered story.

  “…until one was found alive in 1938.” How come it took them 65 years… erm 71 years to take a photograph?

  What is the current status of their extinction? How many of them are there now?

  Or this article in some way points out that those fishes breed after ~70 years so that’s why this was the first baby fish photographed.

  @2 lol at punk rock look :P

• [Teresa Nielsen Hayden]

  Anonymous @11, (1.) coelacanths have never been all that common. (2.) Having adult specimens doesn’t mean you know where and how they breed, or the appearance and life cycle of their offspring. (There are major marine species whose habits are still largely a mystery to us.) (3.) Cameras used to be a lot more unwieldy and uncommon than they are now. (4.) If they breed in inaccessible areas, we’re not going to be there to photograph them anyway.

  I’m not saying you should have known all that. I’m just answering your question. It’s an achievement for these guys to have gotten the photographs at all.

• [jessemoya]

  Is that a full-sized spare tire? I thought those were extinct!

• [cycloxt]

  Nice! I prefer THIS type of fish posting… I could not help clicking on the fish video yesterday, and it got me really depressed.

• [Amphigorey]

  So cute!!

• [scdevine]

  Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, a band spontaneously formed that was named “Baby Coelacanth”.

• [phisrow]

  The researches then decided to experimentally determine what coelacanths taste like when still moving…

  • [JamesPadraicR]

    I once read that the Indonesian name for the coelacanth translates as ‘oily diarrhea fish’. So, probably not so good for sushi.

• [KimmyBZ]

  Looks like a fish that wants to be a reptile. He is a bit behind the times but makes for a very cool punk rock look.

• [stegodon]

  awwwww

• [dove]

  baby animals!

• [taiki24]

  awwwwww, it’s adorable!!! *gushes*

• [Anonymous]

  suck my lobefins, creation scientists!

• [Pantograph]

  Anyone know what those lasers are used for? 3D capturing or in-situ production of laser-cut sashimi?

• [DWittSF]

  It’s so old, it’s in black and white.

  • [airshowfan]

    Bonus points to DWittSF if that was a Calvin And Hobbes reference.

    And it’s interesting that the image includes frickin’ laser beams. I for one would… never mind.

• [apoxia]

  Cute frilly baby :)

• [IronEdithKidd]

  It’s in the middle of that super-cute all fins stage. *heart melted*

• [Darwindr]

  Sooooo cute! And just in time for the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species on the 24th.

• [Dano312]

  Hmmm. Wander if they had their GPS on. There’s probably enough information in the article to allow masses of coelacanth rustlers to descend upon them.
  65 million years to find out they aren’t extinct, but I’d give you to around, say, this time next year when they really will be gone.
  Excuse me. I think I have a bone stuck in my throat.