In 1938, a trawler fishing the waters off South Africa’s eastern coast caught a coelacanth, a fish thought to have become extinct 65 million years ago. If not for the living fossil, it is doubtful that Grahamstown would be the home of the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. Today, the institute is the continent’s undisputed leader in fish taxonomy, and its collection of fish specimens attracts researchers from around the world.
Excellence in Science
2010
Image
