Coelacanths (/ ˈsiːləkænθ / ⓘ SEE-lə-kanth) (order Coelacanthiformes) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. [2][3] As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (which includes amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) than to ray-finned fish.

Mar 27, 2025 · coelacanth, (genus Latimeria), any of the two living lobe-finned bony fishes of the genus Latimeria. Traditionally, however, coelacanth was the name applied generally to any member of the order Coelacanthiformes, subclass Crossopterygii.

May 27, 2024 · The Coelacanth is a rare, deep-sea fish with limb-like lobed fins and a prehistoric lineage dating back over 360 million years. The coelacanth first evolved almost 400 million …

These fish were re-discovered in 1939 after being caught in a net off the coast of South Africa and sold in a fish market. There are two known species of coelacanth, the West Indian Ocean and …

At one time coelacanths were a large group comprising about 90 valid species that were distributed worldwide in both marine and freshwaters. Today, there are two known living species. Numerous characteristics are unique to the coelacanth among living fishes.

Coelacanths have several unique characteristics, the most obvious of which are the fleshy (lobate or pedunculate) fins. While these fins have some similarity with the lobate fins in fossil lungfishes, rhipidistians, and some polypterids, no other fish group has developed seven fleshy fins.

Coelacanths are elusive, deep-sea creatures, living in depths up to 2,300 feet below the surface. They can be huge, reaching 6.5 feet or more and weighing 198 pounds. Scientists estimate...

May 18, 2018 · Coelacanthiformes (subclass Crossopterygii, superorder Coelacanthimorpha) An order of bony fish thought to have been extinct for 65 million years (since the end of the Mesozoic Era) until the discovery of the coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae off S. Africa in 1938 (see LATIMERIIDAE).

Jan 20, 2014 · Coelacanths are a curious group of fish, represented by only two extant species: the African coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) and the Indonesian coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis). These large, lobe-finned fish live in and around deep-water caves off the coasts of southeastern Africa and Indonesia.

The coelacanths (/ˈsiːləkænθ/ ( listen) SEE-lə-kanth) constitute a now rare order of fish that includes two extant species in the genus Latimeria: the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) primarily found near the Comoro Islands off the east coast of Africa and the Indonesian coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis).