The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is a species of lobe-finned fish in the ancient group Actinistia, more closely related to lungfish and land vertebrates than to ray-finned fish. It has lobed fins, a three-lobed tail with a tuft of fin rays at its tip, and a rostral organ used for electroreception. It lives in deep waters off South Africa and the Comoro Islands and was presumed extinct since the Late Cretaceous until a living specimen was caught in 1938, making it one of the most famous living fossils. It is now classified as critically endangered, threatened mainly by accidental capture in deep-sea fishing.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Living or Extinct Scientific Name Conservation Status Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Wikidata)
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Comoros, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Madagascar, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Mozambique, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: South Africa, found in there.
Sources
1. GBIF Species API
2. West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Wikidata)
Wikidata- Wikidata Q668921 (P225 taxon name)
- Wikidata P141 (IUCN conservation status) claim, entity QID Q668921
Statements section, conservation status (P141)
IUCN Red List conservation status (Wikidata property P141): critically endangered.
- Child Taxon Of: Sarcopterygii, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
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