Coelacanth
Latimeria chalumnae
A deep-cave lobe-finned fish that rests in rocky shelters by day and forages over the slope at night. A science story, not a recreational dive encounter.
Critically Endangered (IUCN, 2000) means it is at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. This assessment from 2000 is very old and has not been updated.
Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.
Length
Largest recorded about 2 m (6.6 ft) for females and 1.68 m (5.5 ft) for males; typical adult length not narrowly measured, large adults often about 1.2 to 1.8 m (3.9 to 5.9 ft)
Weight
Largest recorded about 95 kg (209 lb); typical adult weight not reliably measured
Next to a person
A large adult can be roughly as long as a person is tall
What it eats
Deep-water fishes and cephalopods such as squid, cuttlefish and octopus.
Around people
Harmless
How it lives
The coelacanth is a lobe-finned fish that lives near the sea floor in deep water. Around the Comoros, coelacanths shelter in lava caves during the day and come out at night to hunt deep-water fishes, squid, cuttlefish and octopus. They are generally slow-moving fish.
Where it goes
Coelacanths are generally slow-moving and are not known to migrate. Around the Comoros they spend the day resting in lava caves and move out at night to forage.
We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.
Populations
This species lives in the western Indian Ocean, with well-known populations off Grande Comore and Anjouan in the Comoros. It is a different species from the Indonesian coelacanth, Latimeria menadoensis.
Meet it respectfully
This is not a normal diving encounter. Its deep home is reached only by specialist scientific or submersible work with permits. Never pursue, handle, bait or fish for a coelacanth. In the Comoros it is fully protected by law, and international trade is banned under CITES.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
Living coelacanths shocked science in 1938, because the group was thought to be extinct.
Their fleshy paired fins make them one of the best-known lobe-finned fishes.
Females give birth to live young instead of laying eggs.
Coelacanth in the Ocean Atlas
Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.
Travel with usComing soonTrusted referralExploringOn pause, story onlyEthics pass
Country colour: pink where we travel, blue where we are exploring or refer, grey for story only.
Comoros
Kenya
South Africa
TanzaniaSources for this page
Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
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