Pop Up: Raja Laut
Virtually unique in the animal kingdom, the fabulous Coelacanth ("see-la-kanth", meaning "hollow spine" in Greek) is a species of fish and represents the oldest lineage of living fish known to date. The coelacanths were believed to have been extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago) — until a live specimen turned up off the east coast of South Africa in 1938. Today they can be found in the Comoros, Sulawesi (Indonesia), Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and the St. Lucia Marine Protected Area in South Africa.
On July 30 1998, a Coelacanth was caught in a deep-water shark net by local fishermen off the volcanic island of Manado Tua in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. This is about 10 000 km east of the Western Indian Ocean Coelacanth population. The fishermen brought the fish to the house of American biologist Mark Erdmann who along with his wife Arnaz had seen a specimen in the outdoor markets the previous September.
When the Coelacanth from Sulawesi was first documented, the only obvious difference between it and the Coelacanth from the Comoros Islands was the color. The Comoros Coelacanth is renowned for its steel blue color, whereas fish from the Sulawesi population were reported to be brown. DNA reports indicate that the newly discovered Indonesian population is a new species of coelacanth. In 1999 it was described as a new species, Latimeria menadoensis by Pouyaud, Wirjoatmodjo, Rachmatika, Tjakrawidjaja, Hadiaty and Hadie.
The "discovery" of a new species of Coelacanth in Sulawesi, opens up the possibility that Coelacanths may be more widespread and abundant than was previously assumed. New populations recently discovered off north Sulawesi, Indonesia and Sodwana Bay, South Africa may lead to new discoveries, as well as the possibility of a severe decline similar to that seen off the Comores.
Of course, Latimeria was not really "discovered." The local fishing inhabitants of both Sulawesi, Indonesia and the Comoros Islands were well aware of the species long before the scientific community got involved. Fishermen in both locations even had pre-existing names for the fish. The Comoros Islanders refer to Latimeria as gombessa. In north Sulawesi, they are known by the name raja laut, or "king of the sea."
more..
On July 30 1998, a Coelacanth was caught in a deep-water shark net by local fishermen off the volcanic island of Manado Tua in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. This is about 10 000 km east of the Western Indian Ocean Coelacanth population. The fishermen brought the fish to the house of American biologist Mark Erdmann who along with his wife Arnaz had seen a specimen in the outdoor markets the previous September.
When the Coelacanth from Sulawesi was first documented, the only obvious difference between it and the Coelacanth from the Comoros Islands was the color. The Comoros Coelacanth is renowned for its steel blue color, whereas fish from the Sulawesi population were reported to be brown. DNA reports indicate that the newly discovered Indonesian population is a new species of coelacanth. In 1999 it was described as a new species, Latimeria menadoensis by Pouyaud, Wirjoatmodjo, Rachmatika, Tjakrawidjaja, Hadiaty and Hadie.
The "discovery" of a new species of Coelacanth in Sulawesi, opens up the possibility that Coelacanths may be more widespread and abundant than was previously assumed. New populations recently discovered off north Sulawesi, Indonesia and Sodwana Bay, South Africa may lead to new discoveries, as well as the possibility of a severe decline similar to that seen off the Comores.
Of course, Latimeria was not really "discovered." The local fishing inhabitants of both Sulawesi, Indonesia and the Comoros Islands were well aware of the species long before the scientific community got involved. Fishermen in both locations even had pre-existing names for the fish. The Comoros Islanders refer to Latimeria as gombessa. In north Sulawesi, they are known by the name raja laut, or "king of the sea."
more..
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