There is a theory in evolutionary theory which says we evolved from fishes (seriously). In 1938, a primitive-looking fish called the Coelacanth was found alive off the east coast of South Africa. Long thought to be extinct, the discovery caused a stir in the scientific community. It turned out that the Coelacanth had a few surprises up its sleeves (or rather, fins).

The second photo is an ‘x-ray’ image of the Coelacanth. Most ‘regular’ fishes such as eels and groupers have ray fins. The Coelacanth, however, has lobed (limb-like) fins. These are in fact more closely related to the limbs of humans and other mammals, analogous to our arms and legs. Scientists believe that somewhere in the evolutionary tree, ancient fishes decided to go on land, and evolved lobed fins do so. The primitive ‘digits’ of lobed fins enable these maverick fishes to slowly make their way to dry land where there was abundant food, little competition and virtually no predators. The consensus is that this step occurred about 390 million years ago, and that it paved the way for the development of vertebrates or back-boned animals, including us.

Then, there’s sex. One might think that fishes have nothing to teach us about copulation. Think again. In 2014, a team of international scientists led by Professor John Long of Flinders University, Australia, discovered in Scotland, fossils that provided the earliest evidence of a vertebrate that reproduced by sexual intercourse. Two things were remarkable about their discovery. One, the vertebrate was a fish which they named Microbrachius dicki. Two, this small 8 cm long fish lived in the ancient Scottish lakes some 385 million years ago, part of the now-extinct group known as placoderms. Humans are newbies by comparison to placoderms; the fossil record shows that the earliest hominis or apes with human-like features such as bipedalism, did not appear on the scene until 6-7 million years ago. Conclusion: intimate sex involving copulation is ancient, and it was a fish that probably us showed the way.