Years ago, experts believed it perished along with the dinosaurs. The coelacanth was only ever found as fossils. Then in 1938, a fisherman’s catch had a dead one that a South African museum curator discovered. Later, live specimens were discovered, demonstrating that this unusual fish was never truly extinct.
This enormous bottom-dweller is unlike any other fish in existence, residing deep in the seas around the Comoro Islands in Africa and Sulawesi in Indonesia.
Weird True Fact 1: Eight fins are present on it, including two pairs that protrude from the body like legs. However, it doesn’t utilize them for walking. They resemble stabilizers more commonly found on children’s bikes.
Weird True Fact 2: Coelacanths have an oil-filled, hollow tube called a notochord in place of a bony backbone.
Weird True Fact 3: Coelacanths have large heads. The brain takes up only 1.5% of the braincase, with the remainder taken up by fat.
It also possesses thick scales, a unique jaw joint, a large gape, and an electroreception organ in the snout. They may utilize this information to avoid obstacles and discover prey by detecting electrostatic fields. (sciencefocus)
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