Latimeria
Videos
Latimeria is a rare genus of fish which contains the only living species of coelacanth. It includes two extant species: the West Indian Ocean coelacanth and the Indonesian coelacanth. They follow the oldest known living lineage of Sarcopterygii, which means they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods than to the common ray-finned fishes and cartilaginous fishes.
Latimeria chalumnae specimen, Zoologisk Museum, Copenhagen
Latimeria chalumnae model in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, showing the coloration in life
The discovery was covered in a 1939 Daily Dispatch article
Coelacanth
Videos
Coelacanths are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods than to ray-finned fish.
Fossil of Coelacanthus granulatus, the first described coelacanth, named by Louis Agassiz in 1839
Reconstruction of West Indian Ocean coelacanth
Preserved Latimeria menadoensis, Tokyo Sea Life Park, Japan