Coelacanth
Latimeria chalumnae
An ancient fish rediscovered in modern seas.
For millions of years, people knew coelacanths only from fossils and thought they had vanished. Then a living one astonished scientists in 1938.
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From field guide to game table
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Quick dive
Creature passport
- Home
- The African coelacanth shelters in deep caves along rocky western Indian Ocean slopes.
- Favorite foods
- It drifts after fishes, squid, and other cephalopods at night.
- Size check
- Up to about 6.5 ft (2 m)—taller than most adults
Tell-your-friends facts
Four wonderfully wild things
- 1
Only two living coelacanth species are known today.
- 2
Its lineage appears in fossils more than 360 million years old.
- 3
A special joint inside the skull helps open its mouth wide.
- 4
Females produce live young after the eggs develop inside their bodies.
Ocean superpower
Built to be amazing
Fleshy paired fins swing in an alternating pattern like four underwater limbs.
Junior scientist tip
What should I look for?
Notice the thick lobed fins, white speckles, and three-lobed tail.
Grown-up research links
We used trusted science organizations to check this profile.