Milindi — Kenyan tourism operators are preparing to capitalise on the discovery of a 'living fossil' coelacanth fish off the popular coastal resort of Milindi.

The catch is the first off East Africa, with all previous coelacanth sightings reported only off the coasts of South Africa, Mozambique and Madagascar.

The 1,7 metre fish disappeared from fossil records 80 million years ago and was considered extinct until its chance rediscovery off South Africa's east coast near East London in 1938. The discovery is still widely considered to be one of the greatest zoological finds of the 20th century.

Described as "living fossils", coelacanths have changed very little over the past 360 million years. They differ markedly from all other living fish in having fleshy appendages, or lobes, at the bases of their paired fins, which move in a manner similar to arms and legs.

The Kenyan coelacanth was captured in the nets of a commercial trawler earlier this year, but news of its existence only surfaced this month.

The 77kg specimen was delivered to the Kenyan National Museum in Nairobi at the weekend after lying for months in the Mombasa-based fishery company's cold storage depot.

The Kenyan discovery may indicate that coelacanths are far more widely distributed today than has previously been assumed. The Kenyan fish will be put on display in Nairobi. - African Eye News Service