bd ii: coelacanth

parallax.volume12.net/2004/06/001102.htmThis is a link between the KMMA, comics, and a third museum, the museum of natural sciences (also located in Brussels).Broussaille sparked my interest in Brussels, stuffy old musea, and Arnold Böcklin. In this case the link is made through the coelacanth (in the album Les baleines publiques, 1987). Discovered in 1938, it was considered to be the 'zoological find of the century' --and probably was too. Coelacanths were previously known only as fossils (peaking about 240 million years ago), but after the initial rediscovery in 1938 many more have been sighted.Les baleines publiques is a dreamy comic/novel centred around Ixelles and the museum of natural sciences. It introduces a mixture of naturalist and romantic aspects that have become typical of the series.I don't know if there is a coelacanth in the collection of the museum of natural sciences (the museum features high on our places-to-visit list), but there was one at the KMMA. In a very worn and scruffy encasing.