Indonesian Coelacanth

Latimeria menadoensis

Indonesian Coelacanth

“ Your honeymoon tells the world--and maybe you--who you are. ”

Ginger Strand

Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subclass: Actinistia

Order: Coelacanthiformes

Family: Latimeriidae

Genius: Latimeria

Species: Latimeria menadonensis

Descendant: Coelacanths

Named by: Pouyaud, Wirjoatmodjo, Rachmatika, Tjakrawidjaja, Hadiaty & Hadie

Year Published: 1999

Size: 1.4 meters long in length; 80 kg (176 lb) in weight

Lifespan: 60+ years

Type: Bony Fishes (Coelacanth)

Title: 

Pantheon: 

Time Period: Pleistocene to Holocene

Alignment: Good

Threat Level: ★★

Diet: Carnivorous 🥩🐟🥓🦀

Elements: Water

Inflicts: Diarrhea, nausea

Weaknesses: Fire, electric, leaf, sound

Casualties: ???

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Vulnerable (VU) - IUCN Red List 

Indonesian Coelacanth (Latimeria menadonensis) is one of two living species of coelacanth, identifiable by its brown color, while gombessa of Africa is blue. Separate populations of the Indonesian coelacanth are found in the waters of north Sulawesi as well as Papua and West Papua. 

Etymology

The Indonesian coelacanth, known locally as raja laut ("king of the sea"), due to older appearance than modern fishes. It was given the name Latimeria after Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, a South African museum official curator at East London's small museum.

Physical Appearance

Indonesian Coelacanth’s background coloration of the skin is brownish-gray rather than bluish; it has light brown fins and brown eyes, with less sharp teeth than Comorian Coelacanth. But this color is lost when the fish is caught and turns into chocolatey-like dark brown to gray scales.

Abilities

Some have been observed engaging in "headstands" as a means of feeding, which enables coelacanths to slurp food from cracks. The coelacanth's capacity to move both its upper and lower jaws—a characteristic not found in other extant vertebrates with bone skeletons—makes this behavior conceivable. Because it contains difficult-to-digest substances like urea, oil, and wax, coelacanth meat is really harmful to humans. Diarrhea could result from this.

Ecology

As opportunistic feeders, coelacanths hunt a variety of fish in their deep reef and volcano slope habitats, including cuttlefish, squid, snipe eels, and small sharks. In order to find their prey, coelacanths have also been observed to swim head down, backwards, or belly up, most likely with the help of their rostral glands. Although coelacanths have never been actually seen being eaten by a predator, it has been hypothesized that orcas and sharks occasionally ingest them.


This research suggests the coelacanth must stay in cold, well-oxygenated water, or else its blood cannot absorb enough oxygen. Female coelacanths give birth to live young, called "pups," in groups of between five and 25 fry at a time; the pups are capable of surviving on their own immediately after birth. Their reproductive behaviors are not well known, but it is believed that they are not sexually mature until after 20 years of age. It was thought that gestation time was 13 to 15 months.

Behavior

Simply put, coelacanths are generic fish. They are harmless and will swim around idly until provoked. They'll try to swim away at that point. More than a dozen coelacanths may live in the same cave, yet they don't appear to be antagonistic to one another.

Distribution and Habitat

This fish is found in the waters of Manado Tua and the Talise islands off north Sulawesi as well as in the waters of Biak in Papua.


Tamed

Coelacanth can be 'tamed' using Fish Trapper. While they can level, they do eat from the feeder.

Lore

First Discovering of Coelacanth

As he frequently did, he telephoned his friend, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator at East London Museum, to see if she wanted to look over the contents of the catch for anything interesting, and told her of the strange fish he had set aside for her. These two fishes are named after her who discovered the first specimen, Latimeria.


Honeymoon Discovered - September 18, 1997

On September 18, 1997, Arnaz and Mark Erdmann, traveling in Indonesia on their honeymoon, saw a strange fish in a market at Manado Tua, on the island of Sulawesi. Mark Erdmann thought it was a gombessa (Comoro coelacanth), although it was brown, not blue. This only known coelacanth and an animal discovered by a honeymoon date. Many theories about the two coelacanth species originate from the Indo-Pacific, possible to existence in Papua New Guinea and possibly Mindanao to the all coasts of African countries during Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs.

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Trivia