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Animated Life: The Living Fossil Fish

Topic
  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Zoology
  • Evolution
  • Paleobiology
Resource Type
  • Videos
  • Animated Shorts
Level
High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Duration
00:07:18
Favorited By
5 Users
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Description

This animated short video tells the story of the discovery of the coelacanth, a species that belongs to a group of lobe-finned fish that existed 400 million years ago.

The video uses animated paper puppets and narration by experts in the field to illustrate how the coelacanth was discovered and what its unique features reveal about its evolutionary history. In 1938, South African museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer came across a strange blue fin poking out of a pile of fish. With its fleshy, lobed fins and its tough armored scales, the coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) did not look like any other fish that exists today. Scientists later discovered that this fish belongs to a lineage that has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, earning it the description of a "living fossil."

An audio descriptive version of the film is available via our media player.

Details
Key Terms

Charles Darwin, deep time, extinction, ichthyology, lobe-finned fish, marine biology

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level

This resource complies with accessibility standards in accordance with the final rule for Section 508 of the National Rehabilitation Act.
Version History
Date Published 01.28.16
Date Updated 01.28.16
Curriculum Connections
NGSS (2013)

HS-LS4.A

AP Biology (2019)

EVO-3

IB Biology (2016)

5.1

AP Environmental Science (2013)

II.C

Vision and Change (2009)

CC1

Materials
HD (M4V) 271 MB
HD (WMV) 220 MB
SD (M4V) 57 MB
SD (WMV) 59 MB
Transcript (PDF) 245 KB

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