The Coelacanth, a dive into our origins

The Coelacanth, a dive into our origins (2013)

November 2nd, 20131h 31min

Documentary
79%

Overview

Gombessa Expedition 1 To dive for the Coelacanth is to go back in time. In 1938, when it was known only as a fossil, a Coelacanth was discovered in South Africa in a fisherman's net. This species bears witness to an evolutionary bifurcation 380 million years ago, and bears the marks of a great event: the day the fish left the ocean for the open air. Does it hold the secret to the transition to walking on land? In 2010, a marine biologist and outstanding diver, Laurent Ballesta, took the first photographs of the Coelacanth in its ecosystem. In April 2013, divers and researchers set down their equipment at the Sodwana base camp in South Africa, in the club founded by Peter Timm (who died in 2014). Six weeks of extreme diving at depths of over 120 meters, in an attempt to film the Coelacanth with a double-headed camera, collect its DNA and tag a subject with a satellite-linked beacon...


Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!

Trailer

Similar Movies

Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth

Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth


Released on: 2021-07-05
Documentary, TV Movie

Chris Hemsworth has a real passion for sharks. The Hollywood star talks to experts to find out more ...

A Life Illuminated

A Life Illuminated


Released on: 2025-09-07
Documentary, Adventure

A journey into the extraordinary life and legacy of pioneering marine biologist Edie Widder.

The Hunt for the Oldest DNA

The Hunt for the Oldest DNA


Released on: 2024-02-21
Documentary

Three million years ago, camels roamed through Greenland’s endless forests and our ancestors lived i...

Whale Wisdom

Whale Wisdom


Released on: 2018-12-01
Documentary

Whales have long been a profound mystery to us. They live in a world so removed from our own that we...

Ghosts of the Abyss

Ghosts of the Abyss


Released on: 2003-04-10
Documentary

With a team of the world's foremost historic and marine experts as well as friend Bill Paxton, James...

Hlavátky

Hlavátky


Released on: 1943-01-01
Documentary

Jacques Cousteau: The First 75 Years

Jacques Cousteau: The First 75 Years


Released on: 1985-06-23
Documentary

Documentary about the life of explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Antarctica, in the footsteps of the Emperor

Antarctica, in the footsteps of the Emperor


Released on: 2016-02-23
Documentary

Gombessa Expedition 3 Protected by an international treaty Antarctica has been spared the effects o...

Africa Light / Gray Zone

Africa Light / Gray Zone


Released on: 2010-01-30
Documentary, Adventure

"Africa Light" - as white local citizens call Namibia. The name suggests romance, the beauty of natu...

Ocean Paradise

Ocean Paradise


Released on: 2019-04-22
Documentary

OCEAN PARADISE unveils the secrets of the Pacific Ocean’s most remote islands and marine national mo...

Voyage au centre de la mer

Voyage au centre de la mer


Released on: 2013-01-01
Documentary

Danse avec les poissons

Danse avec les poissons


Released on: 2012-09-01
Documentary

Winged Migration

Winged Migration


Released on: 2001-12-12
Documentary

This documentary follows various migratory bird species on their long journeys from their summer hom...

Deep Blue

Deep Blue


Released on: 2003-05-18
Documentary

Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinemati...

Earth

Earth


Released on: 2007-10-10
Documentary

An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, aw...

Bakelite

Bakelite


Released on: 2023-09-17
Documentary

This underwater ballet is an ecological story depicting our paradoxical relationship with plastic. B...

Dawn of Humanity

Dawn of Humanity


Released on: 2015-09-10
Documentary, History, TV Movie

Nova and National Geographic present exclusive access to an astounding discovery of ancient fossil h...

Tapologo

Tapologo


Released on: 2008-04-10
Documentary

In Freedom Park, a squatter settlement near the platinum mines in SA, a network of former sex worker...

Riding Giants

Riding Giants


Released on: 2004-07-09
Documentary

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Dir...

The Cost of Cobalt

The Cost of Cobalt


Released on: 2021-03-31
Documentary

In the cobalt mining areas of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), babies are bein...