Meet coelacanth: The living fossil of a fish with a lifespan of 100 years 

Imagine the dead remains of any prehistoric (read extinct!) plant or animal. Those are the fossils that you read about in your science books or see in the museum. As some of you might know, they are usually embedded in rocks. In fact, scientists consider fossils as the ultimate preserved evidence of ancient life. But have you ever come upon the term living fossil? No, we are not talking about walking mummies or a living dinosaur!  Living fossil refers to an organism that has remained unchanged since the dawn of time. However, their close relatives are known to be extinct. Coelacanth is one of the most popular living fossils among others including horseshoe, crab and gingko tree.   

Finding coelacanth  
For long, coelacanths were considered to be extinct along with the dinosaurs almost 65 million years ago. In fact, their earliest known fossils were discovered in the 19th century. Since then, they have closely been related to both lungfish and tetrapod.  

However, on 23rd December 1938, the first living coelacanth specimen was discovered off the east coast of South Africa (along the Chalumna River) by a South African naturalist and museum curator named Marjorie C. Latimer among the catch of some local fishermen. She was so fascinated by the fish that she didn’t waste any time to contact J.L.B. Smith, an ichthyologist (one who studies fish) at the Rhodes University, to confirm her assumption. Later on, between 1938 and 1975, at least 84 other specimens were discovered! Since then, the world has been keen to know more about this lobe-finned fish.   

Meet the big old fish 
You must be wondering who these coelacanths are, actually. Well, they are either of the two species of rare order of deep-water fish: Latimeria chalumnae or the West Indian Ocean coelacanth and Latimeria menadoensis or the Indonesian coelacanth. The first one is now a critically endangered species, primarily found off the eastern coast of Africa near the Comoro Islands. These large, plump, lobe-finned fish are about 2 metres in size and weigh around 90 kilos.  

Fish(y) facts 
A series of studies suggests that coelacanth live a very long life. Here are some fascinating facts about them:  

• Coelacanths have a lifespan of about 100 years. They usually reach maturity around 55 years. 
• Despite having big eyes, they can only see through blue-hued surroundings. 

• Coelacanths are nocturnal creatures. 
• The word coelacanth has been derived from the Latin word ‘coelacanthus’ meaning ‘hollow spine’. This Latin word, on the other hand, has its roots in two Old Greek words ‘koilos’ meaning ‘hollow’ and ‘akantha’ meaning ‘spine.’