coelacanth

[ see-luh-kanth ]

noun

1. a crossopterygian fish, Latimeria chalumnae, thought to have been extinct since the Cretaceous Period but found in 1938 off the coast of southern Africa.

coelacanth

/ ˈsiːləˌkænθ /

noun

1. a primitive marine bony fish of the genus Latimeria (subclass Crossopterygii ), having fleshy limblike pectoral fins and occurring off the coast of E Africa: thought to be extinct until a living specimen was discovered in 1938

coelacanth

/ sē′lə-kănth′ /

1. Any of various fishes of the group Coelacanthiformes or Actinistia, having lobed, fleshy fins. Coelacanths are crossopterygians, the ancient group of lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to land vertebrates. They were known only from Paleozoic and Mesozoic fossils until a living species ( Latimeria chalumnae ) was found in the Indian Ocean in 1938. A second Latimeria species was described in 1999.

Other Words From

• coe·la·can·thine [see-l, uh, -, kan, -thahyn, -thin], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coelacanth¹

1605–15; < New Latin Coelacanthus originally a genus name, equivalent to coel- coel- + Greek -akanthos -spined, -thorned, adj. derivative of ákantha spine, thorn

Word History and Origins

Origin of coelacanth¹

C19: from New Latin coelacanthus, literally: hollow spine, from coel- + Greek akanthos spine

Example Sentences

In 1859 Charles Darwin coined the term “living fossil” to describe lineages that have looked the same for tens of millions of years, such as the coelacanth, sturgeon, and horseshoe crab.

From Science Magazine

Several of those compounds also trigger receptors in bony fish such as zebrafish and the “living fossil” coelacanth, and all of them taste bitter to humans.

From Science Magazine

The plattenkalk has yielded many different species, including ancient fish like coelacanths and theropod dinosaurs.

From Salon

When those fossilized creatures were living, this area was blanketed by a balmy bay and was home to sharks that sported swordlike spines, coelacanths and the oldest known ancestor to vampire squids.

From New York Times

Take the coelacanth, a bony fish that was thought to have become extinct millions of years ago but was found in 1938 by a South African museum curator on a fishing trawler.

From New York Times