Coelacanth
The coelacanth is a rare and ancient fish species that was believed to have been extinct for approximately 70 million years until its rediscovery off the coast of South Africa in 1938. Initially caught near the Chalumna River, this large predator can grow up to six feet long and is known to inhabit depths ranging from 230 to 2,296 feet (70 to 700 meters). Coelacanths possess distinctive physical features, including a rounded body, broad mouth, and three-lobed tail, with dark blue scaly skin. While they primarily prey on fish, little is known about their behavior and habitat, as they are seldom observed in the wild. Female coelacanths are generally larger than males and have a unique reproductive strategy, giving birth to live young after an estimated gestation period of over a year. The species is currently classified as critically endangered, with most sightings occurring around the Comoro Islands near Madagascar. Despite ongoing studies and interest, significant gaps remain in our understanding of this remarkable fish and its ecological role.
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Coelacanth
The first time scientists discovered a coelacanth was off the coast in South Africa in December, 1938, and they were not seen again until December, 1952. It is a large predator and lives at depths up to 2,296 feet (700 meters). Very little is known about this species.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Coelacanthiformes
Family: Latimeriidae
Genus: Latimeria
Species: Chalumnae
Scientist Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered the coelacanth on December 22, 1938, when a fishing boat caught an unusual fish near the Chalumna River and brought it to the port city of East London, South Africa. Neither she nor other scientists had ever seen any fish like this one, except for fossils which were nearly 360 million years old. They had believed this fish was extinct for nearly seventy million years ago, since no live ones had ever been seen or caught. Unfortunately, they were not able to study and learn very much about the fish before important parts of it could be preserved, and the rotting parts were discarded. Another coelacanth did not appear until fourteen years later when one was found in December, 1952, in the Comoro Islands. Since that time, specimens have been sent around the world and studied, but even so, very little information is available.
It is believed that the coelacanth lives around the Comoro Islands off the northern coast of Madagascar. Due to how rarely it is spotted, scientists have not been able to say definitively where else this fish may reside. It swims at depths of 230 to 2,296 feet (seventy to 700 meters) and preys upon fish.
A coelacanth is up to six feet (nearly two meters) long. Female are larger than males. Some extinct species of coelacanth reached up to twenty-one feet. It has a rounded body with a slightly-humped back and broad mouth. Two dorsal fins lie along the back, and behind the two long pectoral fins are a pair of pelvic fins and an anal fin. The tail is rounded and has three lobes, or rounded parts. The scaly skin is dark blue.
Coelacanth eggs are very large. One female, which was almost five and a half feet (one and a half meters) long, reportedly had up to twenty eggs inside her, each the size of a tennis ball. It is estimated that the gestation period is over one year. Gestation is the time between the egg being fertilized in the mother's body and the young being born. The young are estimated around one foot (thirty centimeters) long when it is born.
The average lifespan of coelacanths is 22 years. The coelacanth is a critically endangered species.
Bibliography
Haugen, Ashley. “Coelacanth.” A-Z Animals, 9 May. 2023, a-z-animals.com/animals/coelacanth/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.
Lee, Jane, “Coelacanth Genes Mapped, 'Living Fossil' Evolved Slowly.” National Geographic, 19 Apr. 2013, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/130418-coelacanth-genome-evolution-oceans-animals-science. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.
White, Nicholas. “Latimeria Chalumnae.” Animal Diversity Web, 2017, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Latimeria‗chalumnae/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.