Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
988,598,434 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

coelacanth

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 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.
click for a larger image
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.
click for a larger image
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

?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
Even now scientists are working hard to find coelacanth young and to figure out the details of the coelacanth life cycle.
``Kayakfishing: The Revolution'' by Ken Daubert, Coelacanth Communications ($15.
Breathing a highly compressed nitrogen-containing mixture of gases for extended periods sometimes convinces divers that they're seeing weird things, but Venter admits that a 6-foot-long coelacanth would have been an elaborate hallucination.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.