Coelacanths are incredibly interesting as far as fish go. For one, they were thought to have gone the way of the dinosaur, along with the dinosaur. They also give birth to live fish and tend to dwell more than 800 feet below the ocean's surface. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Learn all about these fascinating creatures in today's episode.
AI Summary
# Stuff You Should Know: The Coelacanth
In this episode, Josh and Chuck dive into one of the most remarkable zoological discoveries of the 20th century: the coelacanth, a prehistoric fish everyone thought went extinct millions of years ago until one mysteriously turned up in a fisherman's catch off South Africa in 1938. They explore the bizarre anatomy and behavior of this living fossil, from its oil-filled spine and hinged skull to its shocking reproduction method and the fact that its brain only takes up 1.5% of its skull space. Along the way, they uncover why these ancient deep-sea dwellers remained hidden for so long and what makes them one of nature's most fascinating evolutionary mysteries.
Documentary Now!
2015
TV-14
★ 7.1
"I definitely did. I saw the Documentary Now one of those. Which they nailed. — Josh mentions watching a parody of documentaries on the show 'Documentary Now!', specifically one that parodies 'The Thin Blue Line'."
— Josh
"It looks like something out of dune. Okay. Like the body looks like an eel, but have you seen the front end of this thing? — Chuck compares the appearance of a hagfish to something from the movie 'Dune'."
— Chuck
General Hospital
1963
★ 5.8
"Once General Hospital's over, just looking around at everybody like, well, what do you want to do? — Josh jokingly references what coelacanths might do in caves during the day, comparing it to watching a TV show."
— Josh
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
1969
★ 7.8
"Can you remember how Shaggy walked in Scooby-Doo? I do. Just like that. — Josh compares how a coelacanth swims to how Shaggy walks in Scooby-Doo."
— Josh
The Thin Blue Line
1988
1h 43m
★ 7.6
"I finally saw a thin blue line for the first time. Yeah, that's a good one. — Chuck mentions watching Errol Morris's documentary 'The Thin Blue Line' for the first time."
— Chuck
Vernon, Florida
1981
55m
★ 6.8
"Did you ever see Vernon, Florida, the documentary? No, I've never seen that one. By the great Errol Morris. — Chuck references the Errol Morris documentary 'Vernon, Florida' that has an interview about garfish."
— Chuck
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