Coelacanth

The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is a critically endangered species. The oldest known coelacanth fossils are over 410 million years old. Coelacanths were thought to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, but were discovered living off the coast of South Africa in 1938. The coelacanth is a slow drift-hunter and eats a variety of benthic and epi-benthic prey, such as cephalopods, eels, cuttlefish, and deepwater fish.

Scientific name: Actinistia

Discovery date: 1938

Kingdom: Animalia

Order: Actinistia; Cope, 1871

Phylum: Chordat