Penguin Random House South Africa

Categories: Biography & Memoir, Local Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Adult
ISBN: 9781775846475
Published: September 2018
Imprint: Struik Nature
Page Extent: 344
Format: e-Book
RRP 265.00

Fishy Smiths

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About the book

The discovery of the modern-day coelacanth will forever be linked with the name of JLB Smith. An intense, irascible, eccentric man, JLB (as he was widely known) and his long-suffering wife Margaret were both remarkable South African scientists who changed the course of the biological sciences. Best known for their research on the coelacanth, they also contributed in many other ways to the scientific study of fishes (ichthyology) and related fields. The first comprehensive biography about JLB and Margaret Smith. Traces their formative years and serendipitous meeting, leading up to the discovery of the coelacanth, and the tumultuous years that followed. Details their punitive work ethic, eccentric and rugged lifestyle, and their astonishingly productive lives. A story awash with...

About the Author

Mike Bruton

Mike Bruton

Mike Bruton was born and educated in East London, where the first coelacanth was caught. He studied under JLB and Margaret Smith at Rhodes University, and subsequently took over from Margaret Smith as Director of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, launching a series of expeditions to study the coelacanth. He has been involved in coelacanth conservation and has given talks around the world on 'old fourlegs'. http://www. Mikebruton.co.za/biography/

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