Latimeria chalumnae (model) - coelacanth (Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science; Cincinnati, 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