Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 122, February 2015, pp. 12-27. | Page 2

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Keywords:

Sarcopterygii,
Coelacanthiformes,
Latirmeriidae,
Macropoma libanus, Coelacanth, Lebanon Coelacanth, RoundheadRoundtail Lebanon Coelacanth, Fossil, New species, Upper Cretaceous,
Middle Cenomanian, Haqel, Hakel, Hajula, Lebanon, Near East, Middle
East.

The new Roundhead-Roundtail Lebanon Coelacanth fossil species † Macropoma libanus
Khalaf, 2015 from Lebanon. http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEBANON-LEBANESEULTRA-RARE-COELACANTH-FISH-FOSSIL-LIBANON-LIBAN-/130975206209 &
https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/15837802323/

Introduction
When I was writing some articles about the Coelacanth Fishes, I noticed that
there were some Lebanese Coelacanth fish fossil specimens for sale on the
internet and other specimens were in Museums or Private Collections.
One coelacanth fish fossil specimen was for sale on eBay. It looked peculiar. It
was from the Upper Cretaceous (Middle Cenomanian) Limestone in Haqel
(Hakel) and Hajula, Lebanon. This specimen was examined and measured. The
total length was 8.00 cm.
The new fossil species is distinguished from the four different Macropoma species:
† Macropoma lewesiensis Agassiz, 1835; † Macropoma mantelli Agassiz, 1843; †
Macropoma speciosum Reuss, 1857 and † Macropoma willemoesii Vetter, 1881 by its
slightly different skeletal, skull and fin features. It is morphologically a distinct
species. The new species was named † Macropoma libanus Khalaf, 2015.

Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 122 – February 2015