The coelacanth is a famous ‘living fossil’, a lobe-finned fish from a lineage that once included the ancestors of land animals. It lives in deep, cold waters and is rarely seen.
Interesting facts
- Its fleshy, lobed fins move in an alternating pattern like the legs of a walking animal.
- It is more closely related to lungfish and land vertebrates than to most fish.
- It has a unique joint in its skull that lets it open its mouth very wide.
- Females give birth to live young after a gestation that may last about five years.
- A second species, the Indonesian coelacanth, was described in 1999.
- The first specimen was recognised by museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer.
Behaviour
Coelacanths rest in caves by day and drift slowly at night to hunt, often head-down.
Breeding and young
They give birth to live young; pregnancies may be among the longest of any animal.
Threats and conservation
Bycatch in deep-water fisheries and small population size.
Where to see it
- Only by deep submersibles or rebreather divers; specimens in museums
Status source: IUCN Red List. Profile last reviewed September 2026.
