South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity

The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), is involved in research, education and in applications of its knowledge and research to African fish fauna, for either economic or conservation benefit. The institute was formerly named the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, in honour of Professor James Leonard Brierley Smith, who named and described the living coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae.

Situated in Grahamstown, South Africa, SAIAB houses the largest fish collection in Africa, which from 2007 is housed in a specially built facility. The collection of over 880,000 items is accessible through a computerised database, and includes specimens of the unique Coelacanth.

The SAIAB library houses the largest collection of fish-related publications in the southern hemisphere, supported by a computerised database which is also distributed on compact disc. SAIAB's digital image collection is accessible from its Web site.

External links

• SAIAB web site
• SAIAB image collection facility

Coordinates: 33°18′38″S 26°31′11″E / 33.31056°S 26.51972°E / -33.31056; 26.51972