her. She tried to contact J. L. B. Smith, a friend who taught at Rhodes University, to help her identify it, but he was away. Courtenay-Latimer reluctantly sent it to a taxidermist to skin and gut it. When Smith finally arrived on 16 February 1939, he instantly recognized the fish as a coelacanth. "There was not a shadow of a doubt", he said. "It could have been one of those creatures of 200 million years ago come alive again". Smith would give it the scientific name Latimeria chalumnae after his friend and the Chalumna River, where it was found. It would be fourteen more years before another was brought in. Publications Gray's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon Grayi. Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums Vol.3 1963. See also Living fossils Timeline of women in science Notes and references "Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer." The Daily Telegraph (London). 19 May 2004. Myrna Oliver. "Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, 97; Confirmed Rare Fish's Existence." Los Angeles Times. 13 June 2004. pg. B.16 Jeremy Pearce. "Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, Naturalist, Is Dead at 97." New York Times. 7 June 2004. pg. B.6 External links Site with many photos 1907 births 2004 deaths People from East London, Eastern Cape White South African people South African people of English descent South African people of French descent South African naturalists South African women scientists 20th-century women scientists 20th-century naturalists