Coelacanths Coelacanths are an ancient fish-like vertebrates that first appeared some 350 million years ago, about the time the first creatures emerged from sea to land. In terms of evolution, these ancient "fishes" are more closely related to land animals than to fish. Note the specimen's paired fins. They are lobe-like and actually have jointed bones, like arms and legs. The only living species of coelacanth is Latimeria chalumnae, and it is this fish with which the name "coelacanth" is most famously associated. These creatures present a fascinating story of the ways in which our knowledge of the world is sometimes increased by chances. Until 1938 all coelacanths were considered to be extinct; we thought the last coelacanth lived approximately 70 million years ago. In December of 1938, however, fishermen off the eastern coast of South Africa caught a living coelacanth. It wa....

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