A portion of the Indonesian coelacanth video shot several weeks ago has been made public.

The news report states that while more than 200 coelacanth finds have been documented off the coast of southern Africa, only 4 of the Indonesian variety had ever been confirmed before the Aquamarine Fukushima team caught theirs on video last month. According to the group’s coelacanth web page, the researchers this time were able to capture a total of 7 coelacanth on video during the period from May 30 to June 5, as follows:

- May 30 (8:00 to 9:00 AM): Successfully videotaped an Indonesian coelacanth off the northern coast of Sulawesi, at a depth of 170 meters in 17 degrees Celsius water. Length of video is 5 to 10 minutes.

- May 31 (approx. 7:30 AM): Videotaped 2 more coelacanth in the same cave where the first coelacanth was videotaped.

- May 31 (approx. 10:00 AM): Videotaped another coelacanth in a different cave located at a depth of 180 meters.

- June 4 (approx. 6:40 PM): Videotaped 3 coelacanth over the span of 2 hours at a depth of 150 meters in the same area.

Beginning July 13, Aquamarine Fukushima will hold a special exhibit dedicated to the mystery of the Indonesian coelacanth, featuring video of the fish shown on a 65-inch plasma screen. The exhibit will run for an unspecified period of time.

[Source: Aquamarine Fukushima coelacanth page]

UPDATE (July 1, 2006): You can see the same coelacanth footage in this news report in English, on YouTube.

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*** Watch the VIDEO ***
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On May 30, a Japanese research team videotaped a one-meter long coelacanth in its natural habitat in the waters off the coast of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. According to the announcement by Aquamarine Fukushima — a marine science museum located in Fukushima prefecture — this is the first video of a coelacanth in its Indonesian habitat since a German team videotaped one in 1999.

Researchers at Aquamarine have been studying the coelacanth since the facility opened in 2000, and a research team has been stationed in Indonesia since last year. Researchers used a camera mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to shoot a 10-minute video of the coelacanth. The video reportedly shows the fish lurking in a rocky cave located about 500 meters off the coast of Buol in northern Sulawesi, at a depth of about 170 meters. The museum has not indicated when the video will be shown to the public.

“The camera light caused the fish’s eyes to glow green. It was there. Its body was dark blue,” the research team reported to museum director Yoshitaka Abe on the telephone.

“Congratulations. Well done,” Abe told the researchers. “This is a big first step in our research.”

UPDATE (June 2, 2006): This translation was referenced by Loren Coleman on Cryptomundo, where you can find a lot of interesting background info about the coelacanth. He also discusses the potential significance of the reported “dark blue” color of the one caught on this video (Latimeria menadoensis, the Indonesian species, is supposed to be brown).

The German team that first filmed the coelecanth in Indonesia in 1999 was led by one Hans Fricke (See: http://www.dinofish.com/jago.html). I could not find his video of the Indonesian coelacanth online, but I came across these fantastic videos he shot of the African species (Latimeria chalumnae). In one of them, a coelacanth displays its trademark “handstand” posture.

[Sources: Jiji, Chunichi Shimbun]