A Strange Fish Indeed-The Discovery of a Living Fossil

Through a series of fictionalized diary entries, this case recounts the 1939 discovery by Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer (and identification by J.L.B. Smith) of a living coelacanth, a fish believed to be extinct for over 70 million years. Developed for use in a freshman biology course as an introduction to the nature and methods of scientific inquiry, the case could also be modified for use in a number of upper-level biology courses such as ichthyology, evolutionary biology, and conservation ecology.
Resource ID#: 29034 Type: Lesson Plan
Rate It!
Feedback?

Please sign in to access this resource

Teacher
Click here to sign in
as a FL public educator

Not a Florida public school educator?

Access this resource
on CPALMS.com

Open Resource Page Open Resource Page


Direct Link: http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=168&id=168

General Information

Subject(s): Science
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students, Internet Connection, Overhead Projector, Adobe Acrobat Reader
Instructional Time: 59 Minute(s)
Resource supports reading in content area:Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Coelacanth; Latimeria chalumnae; homology; homologous structures; eusthenopteron; tetrapod; fish; evolution; extinction; ichthyology; J.L.B. Smith; Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer; East London Museum; South Africa
Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan,  Assessment
Instructional Design Framework(s): Confirmation Inquiry (Level 1), Cooperative Learning
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Science - General

Aligned Standards

This vetted resource aligns to concepts or skills in these benchmarks.

Related Resources

Other vetted resources related to this resource.

Lesson Plans

Bird Brains - Evolutionary Relationships:

Students will compare the sequence of amino acids in a gene shared between humans and six other organisms and infer evolutionary relationships among the species.

Type: Lesson Plan

T Rex Blood?:

A PBS Nova Podcast/Video with accompanying activities that introduce and explore paleontology and the geologic timescale through analysis of fossil bones.

Type: Lesson Plan