- An Indonesian fisherman hooked a rare coelacanth, a species once thought as extinct as dinosaurs, and briefly kept the "living fossil" alive in a quarantined pool.

The fish died 17 hours later, an extraordinary survival time, marine biologist Lucky Lumingas said Sunday.

The coelacanth (pronounced SEE-la-kanth) was believed to be extinct for 65 million years until one was found in 1938 off Africa‘s coast, igniting worldwide interest. Several other specimens have since been discovered, including another off Sulawesi island in 1998.

amazin that things like this can survive in todays ever changing environment..pity that the thing died though. maybe if there had been no human intervetion it would still be alive