TilapiaIn 1938, scientists were stunned when a 1.5-meter-long coelacanth was caught off the coast of South Africa. Until then, scientists believed the species had gone extinct millions of years ago.
Twelve years later, the sea washed ashore an unfamiliar creature near Suez Bay. It resembled a small whale but had enormous tusks measuring two and a half meters.
An equally astonishing discovery happened in the Sahara Desert. While drilling for an artesian well, a stream of water burst forth from the depths—and a live fish flopped onto the sand.
Experts identified the fish as tilapia, a common inhabitant of Africa’s rivers and lakes. Ancient Egyptians cultivated tilapia in ponds more than 5,000 years ago.
But how did tilapia end up in an underground reservoir? How did it survive and thrive without sunlight? For now, these questions remain a mystery.
