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title: "What the sources say about the Coelacanth | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "53 claims from the Coelacanth profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Coelacanth (*Latimeria chalumnae*)

> 53 claims from the Coelacanth profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Coelacanth](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/coelacanth/)

## African Coelacanth. NOAA Fisheries.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/african-coelacanth

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Thought to have gone extinct over 65 million years ago, then found alive in 1938 | The species was believed to have gone extinct over 65 million years ago but was rediscovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938 |
| a pregnancy of around five years, possibly the longest of any vertebrate | give birth to live young after a very lengthy gestation period of approximately 5years, which is the longest gestation period of any vertebrate species (note: NOAA states the record flatly; Mahé et al. 2021 hedge it ('gestation duration (of around 5 years) ... possibly the longest gestation'), so the page keeps 'possibly'.) |
| Cephalopods, eels, cuttlefish and deepwater fish, hunted by drifting slowly at night | The coelacanth is a slow nocturnal drift-hunter and eats a variety of benthic and epibenthic prey, such as cephalopods, eels, cuttlefish, and deepwater fish |
| can grow up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) long | Length Up to 6.5 feet (note: 6.5 ft converts to about 2 m. The 2020 KwaZulu-Natal paper's largest recorded fish (179 to 190 cm) fall within it.) |
| Males reach maturity between 40 and 69 years old, and females between 58 and 66 | Male coelacanths reach maturity between 40 and 69 years. Female coleacanths reach maturity between 58 and 66 years |
| Females give birth to live young after carrying them for around five years, possibly the longest gestation of any vertebrate | Female coleacanths reach maturity between 58 and 66 years and give birth to live young after a very lengthy gestation period of approximately 5years, which is the longest gestation period of any vertebrate species (note: NOAA states the record flatly; Mahé et al. 2021 hedge it ('gestation duration (of around 5 years) ... possibly the longest gestation'), so the page keeps 'possibly'.) |
| A joint at the back of its skull lets it open its upper and lower jaws at the same time | a unique joint at the back of the skull that allows them to open their upper and lower jaws at the same time |
| At night the coelacanth is a slow drift-hunter, eating cephalopods, eels, cuttlefish and deepwater fish | The coelacanth is a slow nocturnal drift-hunter and eats a variety of benthic and epibenthic prey, such as cephalopods, eels, cuttlefish, and deepwater fish |
| Getting caught by accident in fishing gear has historically been its biggest threat | Historically, fisheries bycatch has been the most significant threat to the coelacanth |
| In 2016 the United States listed the Tanzanian population as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act | In 2016, NOAA Fisheries listed the DPS as threatened under the Endangered Species Act |
| it drifts slowly through the night | The coelacanth is a slow nocturnal drift-hunter (note: vibe.reason, settled in #181) |

## Latimeria chalumnae (coelacanth). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Latimeria_chalumnae/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| with fleshy fins that move like a four-legged animal's legs | Their seven fins have fleshy lobes and they move their two paired sets of fins (pectoral and pelvic) in a diagonally synchronous manner like a four-limbed terrestrial animal |
| Underwater caves in the Indian Ocean off East Africa, about 100 to 200 meters down by day | Biogeographic Regions indian ocean native native Habitat During daylight hours, coelacanths gather in caves roughly 100 to 200 m below the water surface (note: ADW gives the range as the Comoros and the African coast from Kenya to South Africa.) |
| by day in the Comoros | the walls of the caves in the Comoros where they spend their daytime hours |
| Fleshy, lobed fins whose front and back pairs move in a diagonal rhythm, like the legs of a four-legged land animal | Their seven fins have fleshy lobes and they move their two paired sets of fins (pectoral and pelvic) in a diagonally synchronous manner like a four-limbed terrestrial animal |
| Females are larger than males | Females are larger in size |
| Its fins are fleshy and lobed, and it moves the front and back pairs in a diagonal rhythm, like the legs of a four-legged land animal | Their seven fins have fleshy lobes and they move their two paired sets of fins (pectoral and pelvic) in a diagonally synchronous manner like a four-limbed terrestrial animal |
| In its snout sits a rostral organ believed to sense electric fields | Coelacanths have a rostral organ in their snouts that is believed to have an electroperceptive function |
| among living vertebrates only coelacanths have one | Unlike all other vertebrates, coelacanths possess an intracranial joint (note: 'Coelacanths' covers both living species, so the page says only coelacanths, not only this species.) |
| From the few feeding observations so far, it seems not to chase prey but to snap up anything of a suitable size that passes within 20 centimeters of the front of its mouth | From the few observations made so far of their feeding, it appears that coelacanths do not pursue prey, but will simply snap up any prey of suitable size which passes within 20 cm of the front of their mouths |
| In the Comoros it spends the day in caves | the walls of the caves in the Comoros where they spend their daytime hours |
| caves roughly 100 to 200 meters down | During daylight hours, coelacanths gather in caves roughly 100 to 200 m below the water surface |
| for a fish that seems not to chase its food | From the few observations made so far of their feeding, it appears that coelacanths do not pursue prey (note: vibe.reason, settled in #181; 'seems' carries ADW's 'it appears') |
| snaps up prey that passes within 20 centimeters of its mouth | will simply snap up any prey of suitable size which passes within 20 cm (note: vibe.reason, settled in #181) |

## Fraser et al. (2020). Live coelacanth discovered off the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, South Africa. South African Journal of Science.

https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2020/7806

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| submarine canyons off South Africa | 24 coelacanths were identified in three submarine canyons at depths from 96 m to 133 m along a 48-km stretch of coast in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park |
| where a diver saw one at about 54 meters | mixed-gas diver Christo van Jaarsveld observed a coelacanth at a depth of about 54 m in Diepgat Canyon south of Sodwana Bay in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park |
| on 22 December 1938, a trawler working off East London, South Africa, hauled up a living one | When a living coelacanth was trawled off East London, South Africa, at a depth between 72 m and 100 m on 22 December 1938 |
| where more than 200 had been recorded by 2020 | PUBLISHED: 26 March 2020 ... L. chalumnae has since been found in the Comoros (over 200 specimens) (note: 2020 is the paper's publication date, the latest date the count can be said to hold.) |
| which rarely grow past 150 centimeters | male coelacanths rarely exceed 150 cm in length |
| one of the largest on record, a female caught off Mozambique in 1991, measured 179 centimeters and weighed 98 kilograms | the largest coelacanths on record which include a 179-cm, 98-kg female caught off Pebane in Mozambique ... was caught between 40 m and 44 m on the continental shelf off Pebane in northern Mozambique in August 1991 |
| The 98-kilogram female caught off Mozambique was carrying 26 pups | A large coelacanth (179 cm, 98 kg; CCC 162), pregnant with 26 pups, was caught between 40 m and 44 m on the continental shelf off Pebane in northern Mozambique |
| while off South Africa a diver saw one at about 54 meters | mixed-gas diver Christo van Jaarsveld observed a coelacanth at a depth of about 54 m in Diepgat Canyon south of Sodwana Bay in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park |
| By 2020 the species had also been recorded off Tanzania (over 70 fish), Madagascar (over 13), and Kenya and Mozambique (one each), and a colony was discovered off South Africa in 2000 | PUBLISHED: 26 March 2020 ... Mozambique (one specimen, CCC 162) ... Madagascar (over 13 specimens) ... Kenya (one specimen, CCC 178) ... Tanzania (over 70 specimens) ... and a colony was discovered in the isiMangaliso Wetland Park in northern Zululand, South Africa, in 2000 |
| On 22 December 1938, a trawler caught a living coelacanth off East London, South Africa, at a depth between 72 and 100 meters | When a living coelacanth was trawled off East London, South Africa, at a depth between 72 m and 100 m on 22 December 1938 |
| Museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer saved the fish for science, and it was later identified and named by J.L.B. Smith of Rhodes University College | The specimen was saved for science by the young curator of the East London Museum, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer ... identified by JLB Smith of Rhodes University College ... Smith named it Latimeria chalumnae |

## Amemiya et al. (2013). The African coelacanth genome provides insights into tetrapod evolution. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12027

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a find later called one of the greatest zoological discoveries of the 20th century | This discovery turned out to be a biological sensation and is considered one of the greatest zoological finds of the 20 th century |
| It took almost 15 years for a second one to turn up, in the Comoros Islands | It took almost 15 years before a second specimen of this elusive species was discovered in the Comoros Islands |
| Its body looks much like coelacanth fossils at least 300 million years old | their morphology is similar to that of fossils that date back at least 300 million years |
| which is why it earned the nickname "the living fossil." | The morphological resemblance of the modern coelacanth to its fossil ancestors has resulted in it being nicknamed 'the living fossil' |
| Scientists long debated whether the coelacanth or the lungfish is the closest living fish relative of tetrapods, the four-limbed land animals | Closest living fish relative of tetrapods The question of which living fish is the closest relative to ... has long captured our imagination: among scientists the odds have been placed on either the lungfish or the coelacanth |
| A 2013 study of its genome concluded that it is the lungfish | we conclude that the lungfish, and not the coelacanth, is the closest living relative of tetrapods (note: 2013 is the study's publication year (reference amemiya-2013).) |
| found that the coelacanth's protein-coding genes have changed at about half the rate of those in tetrapods since the two lineages split | the coelacanth proteins tested were significantly more slowly evolving ... the substitution rate in coelacanth is approximately half that in tetrapods since the two lineages diverged |
| Scientists long debated whether the coelacanth or the lungfish is the closest living fish relative of tetrapods, the four-limbed animals | Closest living fish relative of tetrapods The question of which living fish is the closest relative to ... has long captured our imagination: among scientists the odds have been placed on either the lungfish or the coelacanth |
| A 2013 study of the coelacanth's genome concluded that it is the lungfish | we conclude that the lungfish, and not the coelacanth, is the closest living relative of tetrapods (note: 2013 is the study's publication year (reference amemiya-2013).) |
| The same study found that the coelacanth's protein-coding genes have evolved more slowly than those of tetrapods | Coelacanth protein-coding genes are significantly more slowly evolving than those of tetrapods |
| No. | we conclude that the lungfish, and not the coelacanth, is the closest living relative of tetrapods (note: FAQ 3 opener) |

## Nikaido et al. (2013). Coelacanth genomes reveal signatures for evolutionary transition from water to land. Genome Research.

https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.158105.113

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Biologists once believed the coelacanth had died out in a mass extinction around 65 million years ago, because it disappears from the fossil record after the Late Cretaceous period | the disappearance of coelacanths in the fossil record after the Late Cretaceous period led biologists to believe that coelacanths had died out during the mass extinction event around that period (65 million years ago [Ma]) |

## Mahé, Ernande & Herbin (2021). New scale analyses reveal centenarian African coelacanths. Current Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.054

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 2021 study of yearly growth rings on the scales of 27 coelacanths found it is among the longest-lived fish species, with a lifespan of probably around 100 years | we use polarized light microscopy to study growth on scales based on a large sample of 27 specimens. Our results demonstrate for the first time nearly imperceptible annual calcified structures (circuli) on the scales ... supporting that the coelacanth is among the longest-living fish species, its lifespan being probably around 100 years (note: 2021 is the study's publication year (reference mahe-2021).) |
| The only two earlier studies had suggested a maximum lifespan of 20 years, an underestimate by a factor of five | Only two previous studies ... have attempted to determine its age and growth. They suggested a maximum lifespan of 20 years ... show that maximal age of the coelacanth was underestimated by a factor of 5 |
| the 2021 scale study warned that its long, slow life means it may be more threatened than previously thought | As long-lived species with slow life histories are extremely vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic perturbations, our results suggest that coelacanths may be more threatened than previously considered (note: 2021 is the study's publication year (reference mahe-2021).) |
| A 2021 study examined yearly growth rings on the scales of 27 coelacanths under polarized light and found the fish is among the longest-lived fish species, with a lifespan of probably around 100 years | we use polarized light microscopy to study growth on scales based on a large sample of 27 specimens. Our results demonstrate for the first time nearly imperceptible annual calcified structures (circuli) on the scales ... supporting that the coelacanth is among the longest-living fish species, its lifespan being probably around 100 years (note: 2021 is the study's publication year (reference mahe-2021).) |
| The only two earlier studies had suggested a maximum lifespan of 20 years, underestimating its maximum age by a factor of five | Only two previous studies ... have attempted to determine its age and growth. They suggested a maximum lifespan of 20 years ... show that maximal age of the coelacanth was underestimated by a factor of 5 |

## Musick (2000). Latimeria chalumnae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2000: e.T11375A3274618.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2000.rlts.t11375a3274618.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It is rated Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, in an assessment that dates from 2000 | IUCN Red List category: Critically Endangered (CR). (note: Category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List; 2000 is the assessment's year (Musick 2000, DOI 10.2305/iucn.uk.2000.rlts.t11375a3274618.en), the latest the prefetch found.) |