Up until 1938, paleontologists accepted the idea that coelacanths (an ancient fish) went extinct at the time that they last appear in the fossil record, about 80 million years ago. But in 1938, a live coelacanth was discovered off the coast of south africa that was compared to the fossil record and found to be the same species. What focus of science does this discovery represent? studying only the living world studying only the nonliving world studying the natural world studying the supernatural world.