Is the coelacanth a missing link?
Is the coelacanth a missing link?
The coelacanth is special among all those fossils hailed as “missing links” because it suddenly emerged as a live specimen off the coast of East Africa in 1938. In 1839, the Swiss scientist Louis Agassiz described the fossil of an unusual fish tail found in the north of England.
Are there any coelacanths alive today?
Population. There are only two known species of coelacanths: one that lives near the Comoros Islands off the east coast of Africa, and one found in the waters off Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Are humans descended from coelacanths?
Like lungfish, the other surviving lineage of lobe-finned fishes, coelacanths are actually more closely related to humans and other mammals than to ray-finned fishes such as tuna and trout.
Has anyone ever caught a coelacanth?
An Indonesian fisherman caught a coelacanth, a species so ancient it is called a “living fossil”, off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, according to the Associated Press. The fisherman managed to keep the specimen alive for 17 hours in a pool before it expired.
Why hasn’t coelacanth evolved?
The genes of the coelacanth have a lower rate of “substitution” – a type of mutation – than other animals with backbones, which may reflect the fact that they do not need to evolve quickly because they live in the relatively unchanging environment of deep-sea caves where there are few predators, the researchers say.
Where was the coelacanth rediscovered?
South Africa
Coelacanths were thought to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, but were rediscovered in 1938 off the coast of South Africa.
What is the closest living relative to the coelacanth?
Experts largely agree that coelacanths are primitive osteichthyans or bony fishes (as opposed to a cartilaginous fishes, such as sharks and rays), and that their closest living relatives are the primitive lungfishes (known from freshwaters of South Africa, Australia and South America), but they disagree on the exact …
Did coelacanth walk on land?
3. Coelacanths have a unique form of locomotion. One striking feature of the coelacanth is its four fleshy fins, which extend away from its body like limbs and move in an alternating pattern. The movement of alternate paired fins resembles the movement of the forelegs and hindlegs of a tetrapod walking on land.
When was the last sighting of a coelacanth?
The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is a critically endangered species. The oldest known coelacanth fossils are over 410 million years old. Coelacanths were thought to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, but were rediscovered in 1938 off the coast of South Africa.
Who discovered the coelacanth fish?
The first living coelacanth was discovered in 1938 and bears the scientific name Latimeria chalumnae. The species was described by Professor J.L.B. Smith in 1939 and was named after its discoverer, Miss Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer.
How long do coelacanths live?
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 they can live up to 60 years or more.
How many different types of coelacanth are there?
Latimeria chalumnae and L. menadoensis are the only two known living coelacanth species. The word “coelacanth” is derived from the Greek for “hollow spine”, because of the fish’s unique hollow spine fins. Coelacanths are large, plump, lobe-finned fish that can grow to more than 2 meters (6 feet 6 inches)…
What is the Diet of a coelacanth?
Diet of the Coelacanth. These fish are piscivores, this means that their primary prey are other fish species. As deep-sea fish, they feed on benthic species, which are species that live on or near the sea floor. They will eat a wide variety of fish, squid, and other cephalopods.
Why is the coelacanth important to science?
Many scientists believe that the unique characteristics of the coelacanth represent an early step in the evolution of fish to terrestrial four-legged animals like amphibians. Coelacanths are elusive, deep-sea creatures, living in depths up to 2,300 feet below the surface.
