File:Coelacanth_off_Pumula_on_the_KwaZulu-Natal_South_Coast,_South_Africa,_on_22_November_2019.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Coelacanthiformes
Sign in to saveCoelacanths ( ) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the terrestrial vertebrates including living amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) than to ray-finned fish.
Coelacanths are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish that are more closely related to lungfish and land vertebrates like amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals than they are to common fish species. They matter because they represent an important branch of vertebrate evolution, connecting the fish that first colonized land to the diverse array of terrestrial animals alive today.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
Coelacanthiformes
ORDER
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassCoelacanthi
- OrderCoelacanthiformes
via GBIF
Wikidata facts
- Image
- 201704 Coelacanth.svg
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Actinistia
- taxon name
- Coelacanthiformes
- start time
- 409000000-
- taxon common name
- kvastfinnefisker
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Discovery
- Distribution
- Description
- Evolution and taxonomy
- Timeline of genera
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Coelacanths ( ) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the terrestrial vertebrates including living amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) than to ray-finned fish.
The name coelacanth originates from the Permian genus Coelacanthus, which was the first scientifically named genus of coelacanths (in 1839), becoming the type genus of Coelacanthiformes as other species were discovered and named. Well-represented in freshwater and marine deposits from as early as the Devonian period (more than 410million years ago), they were thought to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66million years ago.