Coelacanth (Double-Tailed Fish)
Photograph
Date unknown
Museum Collection
This photograph is accompanied by the following notice of reward:
“Look carefully at this fish. It may bring good fortune. Note the peculiar double tail and the fins. The only one ever saved for science was 5 ft (160 cm) long. Others have been seen. If you have the good fortune to catch or find one DO NOT CUT OR CLEAN IT ANY WAY but get it whole at once to a cold storage or to some responsible official who can care for it, and ask him to notify Professor J.L.B. Smith of Rhodes University Grahamstown, Union of S.A., immediately by telegraph. For the first 2 specimens £100 (10,000 Esc.) each will be paid, guaranteed by Rhodes University and by the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. If you get more than 2, save them all, as every one is valuable for scientific purposes and you will be well paid.”
