Believed to have gone extinct at the time of the dinosaurs, the coelacanth has one of the longest gestation periods on Earth — and it can hunt in a headstand.
Name: West Indian Ocean coelacanth or African coelacanth , known as 'gombessa' in the Comoros IslandsWhat it eats: A variety of fish and cephalopods, including squid and cuttlefish.
Why it's awesome: Scientists thought all coelacanths went extinct over 65 million years ago — until the West Indian Ocean coelacanth was found by chance living off the coast of South Africa in 1938 . Coelacanths first appeared over 400 million years ago, but their fossil record stopped around the same time as the dinosaurs disappeared. Their unexpected reappearance means they are what is known as a Lazarus species.
These ancient bony fish spend their days hiding within caves and emerging at night to feed. They can grow up to 6.5 feet long and weigh up to 198 pounds .Initial studies suggested coelacanths have a maximum lifespan of 20 years. But this finding was at odds with other aspects of the fish's life history, including slow metabolism and low oxygen absorption — traits normally associated with longevity.
In 1997, almost 60 years after the West Indian Ocean coelacanth's rediscovery, scientists found another coelacanth species in Indonesia. Known locally as 'raja laut' , it was given the scientific name L. menadoensis.
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