The discovery of the coelacanth

In 1938, South African museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered a coelacanth, a fish that was believed to have been extinct for 65 million years.

It is thought to be our ancestor and the missing link between how fish evolved into four-legged amphibians.

Produced and presented by Rachel Naylor in collaboration with BBC Archives.

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(Photo: A coelacanth. Credit: Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)