“We must take it for granted,” explains Prof. Anatol Heintz, Norwegian paleontologist, “that the ancestral forms of the vertebrates evolved in water. Most primitive forms lived on the bottom and had not yet specialized sufficiently to be able to swim. If the oldest vertebrates were bottom-living or burrowing forms they must have learned to swim, just as later they learned to crawl, walk, run and finally fly.” Among the earliest groups of true fish were the coelacanths, or “hollow spines.” They left many fossil remains over a period of 200,000,000 years. Supposedly they became extinct about sixty million years ago, at the start of the dawn age when most higher life types known at present first appeared. Through all the vast eons of their existence the “hollow spines” changed little. Three years ago came one of the outstanding events in present day biology. A living coelacanth was caught by native fishermen off the northeastern coast of Madagascar. It was quite similar to its fossil ancestors—armored head and all. Apparently the Madagascan fishermen had been capturing similar creatures in their nets occasionally for years, without realizing that they were of any particular significance. To biologists the news of this capture was as exciting as would have been that of finding a living dinosaur. The coelacanths, in fact were hoary with age when the earliest dinosaurs appeared on earth. This fish was a survivor from days when animals first were developing spines and brains. The specimen, however, was practically ruined before it came to the attention of the scientists. Native sailors had sliced it open from snout to tail. All the brain and other soft parts of the head were gone. Other parts were so badly mangled that it was impossible to reconstruct them. Since then several others have been caught. An intriguing possibility is that of obtaining a female with unborn young. A developing embryo supposedly recapitulates ancestral forms. If one could be found it would be possible to reconstruct something of the real ancestry of the first back-boned animals. Natives report that the coelacanth is extremely oily. Its flesh drips oil. When boiled it quickly turns to jelly. This fact may have a bearing on the origin of some of the earth’s great oil deposits. Man today may be running his automobiles or heating his homes on the fuel produced by vast hordes of these head-armored, hollow-spined fish in the ancient warm seas. _The Ever Faithful Hornbills_ Lady hornbills are trusting wives and gentlemen hornbills are unbelievably faithful husbands.