Fisherman in Calcutta, India claim that the creature they pulled from the Ganges (pictured above) is a Coelacanth. The Coelacanth is a very old fish. They first appear in the fossil record in the middle of the Devonian Era, more than 350 million years ago. And until the 2oth Century most scientists believed that they had gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, roughly 65 million years ago.

However, in 1938, the species was discovered in waters off the coast of South Africa. They’ve subsequently been found in many eras off the east coast of Africa. However, if this is indeed a Coelacanth, its discovery in the Ganges would mark a whole new range for the species.

Paleontologists are rushing to the area to determine if this is indeed a Coelacanth. Though some observers are already skeptical, claiming it resembles other local fish such as the Orange-Spotted Grouper.

Source.