Latimeria chalumnae

Latimeria chalumnae

The only living coelacanth

Distribution 

Indian Ocean region, including the Comorian islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan, South Africa, Madagascar and Mozambique

Taxonomy

Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Coelacanthiformes

Brief description 

Latimeria chalumnae have a deep blue color, and the body is covered with large, deeply imbricating round scales. It has sail-like first dorsal fin, the lobed second dorsal and anal fins and the trilobed tail. Also,it is an ovoviviparous species

Body size

About 1.5 meters long and weighs about 60 kilograms

Trivia

Latimeria, the only living coelacanth, previously was thought to be extincted in Late Cretaceous. The discovery of Latimeria in 1938 was one of the greatest scientific discoveries in 20th century