Latimeria chalumnae (model) (coelacanth) 2 (15717251761)

Description :

Description: Latimeria chalumnae (model) - coelacanth (Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, USA). The coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae Smith, 1939) is one of the famous marine fish on Earth. Coelacanths are classic examples of “living fossils” - organisms known initially as fossils, then afterward discovered still living today. The first living coelacanth was caught in 1938 offshore from southeastern Africa. Two modern species have been described. Coelacanths were once hypothesized to be the fish group transitional to the first tetrapods, but this is now known not to be the case. Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Sarcopterygii, Coelacanthiformes, Coelacanthidae Natural distribution: Indian Ocean, from South Africa to Indonesia. Date: 22 July 2006, 14:21. Source: Latimeria chalumnae (model) (coelacanth) 2. Author: James St. John.