Coelacanth

The Coelacanth is a fish that rightfully bears the label of a “living fossil.” At the time when news of a specimen caught off the coast of South Africa reached the public in 1938, the Coelacanth was only known from fossils that were many millions of years old. After scientists examined the animal, they were astonished to notice that this group of fish had hardly undergone any changes in 410 million years. Numerous fossils indicate that Coelacanths once were common in shallow seas, whereas today they are found in the ocean at depths between 150 and 400 meters. Their currently know distribution extends across the southwestern Indian Ocean. In 1998, another area of Coelacanth occurrence was discovered off the coast of Sulawesi (Indonesia), about 10,000 kilometers from the original location.