Posted on 09/16/2024 6:08:42 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Today, the coelacanth is a fascinating deep-sea fish that lives off the coasts of eastern Africa and Indonesia and can reach up to 2m in length. They are "lobe-finned" fish, which means they have robust bones in their fins not too dissimilar to the bones in our own arms, and are thus considered to be more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the back-boned animals with arms and legs such as frogs, emus, and mice) than most other fishes.
Over the past 410 million years, more than more than 175 species of coelacanths have been discovered across the globe. During the Mesozoic Era, the age of dinosaurs, and coelacanths diversified significantly, with some species developing unusual body shapes. However, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, around 66 million years ago, they mysteriously disappeared from the fossil record.
The end-Cretaceous extinction, sparked by the impact from a massive asteroid, wiped out approximately 75% of all life on Earth, including all of the non-avian (bird-like) dinosaurs. Thus, it was presumed that the coelacanth fishes had been swept up as a casualty of the same mass extinction event.
But in 1938, people fishing off South Africa pulled up a large mysterious-looking fish from the ocean depths, with the 'lazarus' fish going on to gain cult status in the world of biological evolution.
(Excerpt) Read more at scitechdaily.com ...
A newly discovered ancient coelacanth from Western Australia provides critical insights into evolutionary biology, highlighting the influence of tectonic activities on the emergence of new species and tracing the lineage that connects ancient fishes to humans.Credit: Katrina Kenny (Flinders University)
...around 66 million years ago, they mysteriously disappeared from the fossil record. The end-Cretaceous extinction, sparked by the impact from a massive asteroid, wiped out approximately 75% of all life on Earth, including all of the non-avian (bird-like) dinosaurs. Thus, it was presumed that the coelacanth fishes had been swept up as a casualty of the same mass extinction event. But in 1938...
...a mass extinction event wasn't even considered, and wouldn't be until after the Chicxulub impact crater was discovered (1951, 1978) and identified (1991) as the source of the iridium layer in the thin layer that caps the Cretaceous.
Oh, I thought this was about Joe Biden.
Thanks for the link! Makes a nice twofer!
“Joe Biden”?
If only Helen Thomas were still alive.
I was going to go there, but you would be correct as she’s not living. Maybe her ghost?
And pictures of Helen still give me the heebie jeebies.
Helen Thomas was truly ugly.
Inside and Out.
Ping to Oz fish.....
I recall suggesting an alternate method of interrogation of making them watch Thomas and Henry Waxman recreate the beach scene from From Here To Eternity.
They ignore the most important question: Are they tasty?
Nooooooooo….
Can’t unsee
This isn’t an Elizabeth Warren thread?
I have read that they are greasy...don’t taste too good.
Invoking an oxymoron (living fossil) to obscure the now known truth that not ALL organizms evolve.
Hillary just can’t let it go and stay out of the news.../s
Unfortunately the meteor theory is just that. A theory. The dinosaurs took many years to die out. Plus the theory doesn’t explain why the smaller reptile sized dinosaurs didn’t survive like the mammals and reptiles did.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
