Face to face with the Indonesian coelacanth

Last May, a scientific publication confirmed the presence of coelacanths in the Maluku archipelago, a groundbreaking discovery for the team that conducted this research. Never before had a diver had the opportunity to encounter Latimeria menadoensis, the Indonesian coelacanth. Alexis Chappuis, the driving force behind this project, shares with us his journey of over ten years and the intense emotion felt during this encounter with this mythical animal.

A Remarkable Adventure

In October 2024, during a dive at 145 meters deep, an extraordinary encounter took place. Face to face with a fish that has roamed our planet for over 400 million years, the coelacanth has adapted to various aquatic environments. Although its existence was doubted for 65 million years, it found refuge in the ocean depths, far from human eyes. It was not until 1938 that a living specimen was discovered, marking one of the greatest zoological discoveries of the 20th century. In 1997, a new species, Latimeria menadoensis, was identified in Indonesia, paving the way for further research.

Ten Years of Research

Alexis Chappuis’s quest began in 2014. Hours of documentation, exchanges with specialists like Mark Erdmann, and training in deep diving marked his journey. In 2018, the UNSEEN association was founded to study mesophotic habitats, attracting support from the Swiss watchmaking company Blancpain. The expeditions have allowed for knowledge acquisition about these little-explored ecosystems, but the challenges have been numerous: logistical issues, supply difficulties, and extreme diving conditions.