What is a coelacanth?

Answer 1

The coelacanth is a fish which was believed to have been extinct since the Cretaceous period. However, in 1938 a curator of a museum found a coelacanth in a catch of fish of a trawler off the coast of South Africa. Since then, they have been noted to appear in Comoros, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, and even in Indonesia. The fish is blue with silver markings and grows to over six and a half feet long. Its population is estimated to be at a number of around 500

The fish was discovered (found) by the crew of the trawler 'Nerine", not by the curator, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, of the East London Museum - she made sure it was saved for science! Coelacanths are also found in South Africa and Kenya and it is steel blue/grey with white to pale pink spots and blotches in patterns unique to the individual. The population is unknown - the estimate of 500 or less was guesswork following surveys in the Comoro Islands. It is quite clear that, although nowhere abundant, the coelacanth is widely distributes throughout the western Indian Ocean.

Answer 2

• the coelacanth is a very large fish, about 4 feet long.
• the coelacanth was supposed to have gone extinct until they were rediscovered in1938
• this ancient fish is covered with hard scales. it has 3 dorsal fins, 1 set of pectoral fins,1set of pelvic fins, 2 anal fins, and 1 tail fin, which is a lot more than most fish.coelacanths are dark blue with traces of white.
• until being rediscovered, they were thought to have gong extinct more than 80,000 years before