Latimeria

Latimeria
Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene-Holocene, 0.02–0 Ma
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West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae), Natural History Museum of Nantes
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Class: Actinistia
Order: Coelacanthiformes
Family: Latimeriidae
Genus: Latimeria
Smith, 1939
Type species
Latimeria chalumnae
Species
Range in red and violet
Synonyms[1]
  • Malania Smith, 1953 non Chun & Lee, 1980

Latimeria is a rare genus of fish which contains the two only living species of coelacanth. It includes two extant species: the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) and the Indonesian coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis). They follow the oldest known living lineage of Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish and tetrapods), which means they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles and mammals) than to the common ray-finned fishes and cartilaginous fishes.

They are found along the coastlines of the Indian Ocean and Indonesia.[2][3] Since there are only two known species of coelacanth and both are threatened, it is one of the most endangered genera of animals in the world. The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is a critically endangered species.[4]

  1. ^ "Part 7- Vertebrates". Collection of genus-group names in a systematic arrangement. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. ^ Holder, Mark T.; Erdmann, Mark V.; Wilcox, Thomas P.; Caldwell, Roy L.; Hillis, David M. (1999). "Two Living Species of Coelacanths?". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 96 (22): 12616–20. Bibcode:1999PNAS...9612616H. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.22.12616. JSTOR 49396. PMC 23015. PMID 10535971.
  3. ^ Butler, Carolyn (March 2011). "Living Fossil Fish". National Geographic: 86–93.
  4. ^ Musick, J. A. (2000). "Latimeria chalumnae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2000: e.T11375A3274618. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T11375A3274618.en.