The discovery of the living coelacanthLatimeria chalumnaewas first announced to the scientific world in notes published by J. L. B. Smith inNatureand in theTransactions of the Royal Society of South Africa.The significance of the discovery and the present status of research on the living coelacanth are briefly reviewed. There is evidence that the survival ofL. chalumnaemay be threatened by man's activities and urgent steps will have to be taken to prevent the sole surviving member of an ancient line from becoming extinct.