Coelacanth

deep sea · living fossil · lobe-finned fish

Ancient survivor. Coelacanths have existed for over 400 million years, outlasting the dinosaurs and staying remarkably similar throughout all that time.

Fleshy, jointed fins. Unlike most fish with thin, ray-like fins, coelacanths have thick, muscular, lobe-shaped fins supported by bones, making them more similar to how early tetrapods (four-legged animals) evolved.

Deep ocean dweller. Coelacanths live in the deep, dark waters off the coasts of Africa and Indonesia, hunting other fish in the pitch-black depths.

Two species today. All living coelacanths belong to a single genus called Latimeria, with just two known species, making them incredibly rare and special.

Thought extinct. Scientists believed coelacanths had died out 65 million years ago until fishermen caught one alive in 1938, shocking the world.