Coelacanthus

Coelacanthus Temporal range: Permian to Jurassic
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.

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, and had small lobed fins, suggesting that Coelacanthus were open-water predators.

Coelacanthus was a long-lived genus with a worldwide distribution. The various species survived the Permian–Triassic extinction event, and the last eventually died out during the Late Jurassic, around 145 million years ago.

Species of Coelacanthus

• Coelacanthus banffensis Lambe, 1916
• Coelacanthus evolutus Beltan, 1980
• Coelacanthus gracilis Agassiz, 1844,
• Coelacanthus granulatus Agassiz, 1836
• Coelacanthus harlemensis Winkler, 1871
• Coelacanthus lunzensis Reis, 1900
• Coelacanthus madagascariensis Woodward, 1910
• Coelacanthus minor Agassiz, 1844
• Coelacanthus welleri Eastman, 1908
• Coelacanthus whitea Lehman, 1952

External links

Mikko's Phylogeny Archive on Coelacanthiformes