Coelacanth
Rockfish
The Coelacanth, (pronounced See-La-Canth),
is one of the largest of the Rockfish Sculptures that I have made.
It is 62" long, 26" height, width 20" and weight of 160-180lb. The
central stone is a slab of surf-tumbled marine shale. This stone
was cast upon the shore during heavy surf. The small holes that are
in it come from boring marine clams. This Rockfish is fabricated
from 1/2" steel plate. It has paired, lobed-fins like the actual
fish.
This sculpture represents a
type of fish that was believed to have been extinct for 70 million years.
In 1938 a single specimen was recovered near Madagascar. This led
to considerable excitement in the academic community. This family
of fishes had been thought to have evolved into tetrapod amphibians.
The Coelacanth was considered a living fossil, almost a missing link.
It is a large, yet very rare species, living in the cold deep sea.
How this creature could have survived is one of the mysteries of our planet.
Most of my sculptural
work is based upon drawings I make.
The rendering of the piece often leads to considerable research. The Coelacanth
Rockfish Sculpture is no exception.
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