The coelacanth is one of the most remarkable fish known to science. For many years it was believed to have disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous period, surviving only as fossils more than 65 million years old. That assumption changed dramatically in 1938, when a living specimen was discovered off the coast of South Africa, revealing that this ancient lineage had persisted in the deep ocean.
Coelacanths belong to a group of fishes known as lobe-finned fishes, which were far more diverse in the distant past. Their anatomy has long interested scientists because it preserves features related to the early evolution of vertebrate limbs. Modern coelacanths inhabit deep volcanic slopes and underwater caves, usually hundreds of metres below the surface. They move slowly through the water using a distinctive, almost walking motion of their lobed fins. The discovery of a living coelacanth in the twentieth century was one of the most famous moments in modern zoology. It provided a rare opportunity to study an animal previously known only from fossils, offering new insights into the history of vertebrate evolution.
Approximately 52cm long.
This is not a toy. Not suitable for children under the age of 36 months.
