Discover the coelacanth, a mysterious fish once hailed as evolution’s “missing link.”

Believed extinct for over 50 million years, the coelacanth (see-la-kanth) made a stunning appearance in 1938 when South African museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer stumbled upon the iridescent blue fin of a bizarre-looking fish on the deck of a trawler. Shocking the scientific world, the living coelacanth and its remarkable biology held pieces to an unfinished evolutionary puzzle. Could this odd-looking creature that predates the dinosaur be the storied “missing link” between water and land animals?

NOVA explores the amazing discovery of this “living fossil” and reveals why this primitive creature holds tantalizing clues to the evolution of all terrestrial life. See the armored scales, brilliant colors, and odd limb-like fins of this extraordinary fish. Hear Courtenay-Latimer relive the excitement that followed her amazing discovery. And join a diving team in their specially-designed submersible in search of one of the oldest living species on earth.