A Strange Fish Indeed by Robert H. Grant

December 24, 1938
Could not believe that the director of this museum would not even consider the bizarre appearance of this fish as unique. To think, he said it was just another rock cod! I feel that it definitely resembles some of the pictures I found in Fossil Fishes of the World. This is the first time I’ve wished my expertise lie in fish instead of birds. I must contact J.L.B. Smith in Grahamstown…

January 2, 1939
Have been waiting anxiously for a reply from Dr. Smith. He must still be away from the university on Christmas holidays. I do hope that he received my letter and crude drawing of this most fascinating fish.

I fear that his silence is a result of my untrained hand at trying to recreate the specimen on paper. He can be rather persnickety…

January 3, 1939
Finally received word from Dr. Smith. Very excited at the arrival of his cable, “MOST IMPORTANT PRESERVE FISH AND GILLS = FISH DESCRIBED.” Am disappointed that I already had the fish gutted and its internal organs discarded. But after being rebuffed by both the town’s mortuary and cold storage, I was most grateful to our local taxidermist who helped me preserve the fish as best we could. It was beginning to rot. We have only mounted the skin…

February 16, 1939
Dr. Smith arrived today and has caused quite a stir. He positively identified the fish as a coelacanth, a fish that was thought to have been extinct for about 70 million years! My hunch was correct! We have found a living fossil. Dr. Smith said that this fish and its relatives were swimming in seas and lakes when T. rex walked the Earth! Cannot begin to describe my excitement. Must leave off here. The newspaper reporters have come to interview us…