Coelacanth

Coelacanth images - stock photos, illustrations & facts showing this living fossil of the deep sea

Conservation status | Threatened Species > Critically Endangered Species
Scientific classification | Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Order: Coelacanthiformes > Family: Latimeriidae > Genus: Latimeria > Species: L. chalumnae
Binomial name | Latimeria chalumnae

Conservation status | Threatened Species > Vulnerable Species
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Coelacanth images - stock photos, illustrations & facts showing this living fossil of the deep sea

Conservation status | Threatened Species > Critically Endangered Species
Scientific classification | Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Order: Coelacanthiformes > Family: Latimeriidae > Genus: Latimeria > Species: L. chalumnae
Binomial name | Latimeria chalumnae

Conservation status | Threatened Species > Vulnerable Species
Scientific classification | Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Order: Coelacanthiformes > Family: Latimeriidae > Genus: Latimeria > Species: L. menadoensis
Binomial name | Latimeria menadoensis

Coelacanth is the common name for two species, the West Indian Ocean coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, and the Indonesian coelacanth, Latimeria menadoensis, which are the only living forms of what was once a large family with more than 120 species identified from fossil records. The coelacanth is the only living example of the fossil coelacanth fishes Actinistia. They are the closest link between fish and the first amphibian creatures which made the transition from sea to land in the Devonian period, 408-362 million years ago. The entire species were thought to have been extinct for thousands of years until one was caught by fishermen off South Africa in 1938. Since 1938, Latimeria chalumnae have been found in the Comoros, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and in South Africa. Latimeria menadoensis was idientified in 1999. In 1998, the total coelacanth population was estimated to have been 500 or fewer, and they were added to the Endangered Species list in 1989. Coelacanth can reach six feet in length and weigh up to 170 pounds. West Indian Ocean coelacanths are dark blue with white flecks, the Indonesian coelacanth is more brown than blue. They feed on cuttlefish, squid, eel, small sharks, and fish found in their deep reef habitats. They have a rostral organ in the snout that acts as an electroreceptive device which helps them find their prey. Coelacanths They are ovoviparous, giving birth to as between 5 and 25 live pups which develop from eggs in the oviduct, feeding off a large yolk sac until birth. The pups are capable of surviving on their own immediately after birth.
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