coelacanth
See also: cœlacanth
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From the New Latin genus name Coelacanthus, from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koîlos, “hollow”) + ἄκανθα (ákantha, “spine”), referring to the hollow caudal fin rays of the first fossil specimen described and named by Louis Agassiz in 1839.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
coelacanth (plural coelacanths)
- Either of two species of deep-water fish, Latimeria chalumnae of the Indian Ocean and Latimeria menadoensis of Indonesia.
- Any lobe-finned fish in the order Coelacanthiformes, thought until 1938 to have been extinct for 70 million years.
- 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 32:
- Among them were ancient relatives of the piranhas and those popular aquarium fish the tetras, along with garfish and freshwater coelacanths, known as mawsonids.
Translations edit
either of two species of deep-water fish
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any lobe-finned fish in the order Coelacanthiformes
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References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “coelacanth”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading edit
- coelacanth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Latimeria chalumnae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
- Latimeria on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
- Latimeria chalumnae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons