Coelacanthus

Coelacanthus Temporal range: Permian to Triassic
Coelacanthus whitea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sarcopterygii
Subclass:	Actinistia
Order:	Coelacanthiformes
Family:	Coelacanthidae
Genus:	Coelacanthus Agassiz, 1836
Species
see text

Coelacanthus ("Hollow Spine") is a genus of extinct coelacanths that first appeared during the Permian period. In fact, this was the first genus of coelacanths ever described, as the order Coelacanthiformes is named after it.

Description

Coelacanthus granulatus fossil

They bear a superficial similarity to the living Latimeria, though they were smaller, and had more elongated heads. Individuals grew up to 3 feet in length, had an elongate codavypter or supplementary tail lobe, and had small lobed fins, suggesting that Coelacanthus were open-water predators.

Distribution and time

Coelacanthus is known from Late Permian and Early Triassic deposits in Europe and Canada, although the referred species C. welleri, known from Iowa, is of Late Devonian (Fammenian) age. It survived the Permian–Triassic extinction event, and one species, C. banffensis, is known from the Early Triassic. Coelacanthus minor was considered by Woodward (1891) as potentially belonging to the Triassic genus Heptanema, while Martin and Wenz (1984) considered Coelacanthus lunzensis a possible synonym of Garnbergia.

Species

• Coelacanthus banffensis Lambe, 1916
• Coelacanthus gracilis Agassiz, 1844
• Coelacanthus granulatus Agassiz, 1836
• Coelacanthus welleri Eastman, 1908

External links

Mikko's Phylogeny Archive on Coelacanthiformes