Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 112, April 2014, pp. 1-10. | Page 4

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discovered by Mark V. Erdmann in 1998 and deposited at the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI). Only a photograph of the first specimen of this
species was made at a local market by Erdmann and his wife Arnaz Mehta before
it was bought by a shopper (Wikipedia).

The Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) at the Educational Science Museum, Kuwait
City, State of Kuwait. 22.09.2013. Photo by: Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Khalaf-von Jaffa.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/10145077603/
The coelacanth has no real commercial value, apart from being coveted by
museums and private collectors. As a food fish the coelacanth is almost
worthless, as its tissues exude oils that give the flesh a foul flavor. The continued
survival of the coelacanth may be threatened by commercial deep-sea trawling,
in which coelacanths are caught as bycatch (Wikipedia).
Coelacanths are a part of the clade Sarcopterygii, or the lobe-finned fishes.
Externally, there are several characteristics that distinguish the coelacanth from
other lobe-finned fish. They possess a three-lobed caudal fin, also called a
trilobite fin or a diphycercal tail. A secondary tail that goes along and extends
past the primary tail separates the upper and lower halves of the coelacanth.
Cosmoid scales act as thick armor that protects the exterior of the coelacanth.
There also are several internal traits that aid in differentiating coelacanths from
other lobe-finned fish. At the back of the skull, the coelacanth possesses a hinge,
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 112 – April 2014