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coelacanth
(redirected from Coelacanths)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.09 sec.
coe·la·canth  (sl-knth)
n.
Any of various mostly extinct fishes of the order Coelacanthiformes, known only in fossil form until a single living species, Latimeria chalumnae of African marine waters, was identified in 1938.

[New Latin Coelacanthus, former genus name : Greek koilos, hollow; see -coel + Greek akantha, spine.]

coela·canthine (-knthn, -thn) adj.
coela·canthous (-ths) adj.
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coelacanth
Latimeria chalumnae

coelacanth [seel-a-kanth]
Noun
a primitive marine fish, thought to be extinct until a living specimen was discovered in 1938 [Greek koilos hollow + akanthos spine]

coelacanth  (sl-knth)
Any of various fishes of the order Coelacanthiformes, 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. At least one other (Malania anjouanae) has been discovered since then.
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coelacanth
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.coelacanthcoelacanth - fish thought to have been extinct since the Cretaceous period but found in 1938 off the coast of Africa
crossopterygian, lobe-finned fish, lobefin - any fish of the order Crossopterygii; most known only in fossil form
genus Latimeria, Latimeria - type genus of the Latimeridae: coelacanth


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
Walker's tale of scientists and the coelacanths is exciting even as it moves from historical accounts to discussions of fish facts to coverage of current events in the search to find new species.
For almost a century, paleontologists thought early coelacanths were close ancestors of the first vertebrates to walk on land.
Unfortunately, warm surface water kills coelacanths (they're used to 13[degrees]C/55[degrees]F)--none has survived capture for more than 20 hours.
 
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