The coelacanth has been nicknamed a “living fossil”, because its fossils were found long before the actual discovery of a live specimen. The coelacanth is the only surviving species of a prehistoric group of fish, the crossopterygii, from which some scientist suspect the first vertebrates evolved.
Coelacanths are elusive, deep-sea creatures, living in depths up to 2,300 feet. Its population figures are, predictably, not well known, but studies in the Comoros suggest that only about 1,000 remain there. They are considered an endangered species.
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