LATIMERIA : Coelacanth (Gombessa; Mame)

Systematic Classification

Doman : Eukaryota

Kingdom : Animalia

Phylum : Chordata

Clade : Sarcoptergii

Class : Actinistia

Sub - Class : Crossopterygii

Order : Coelacanthiformes

Family : Latimeriidae

Genus : Latimeria (Smith, 1939)

Species : Chalumnae (Smith, 1939); menadoensis (Ponyand

et. Al., 1999)

Common name.

Coelacanth (Coel : hollow; acanth : spine) i.e., cartilaginous hollow fin

spine; Gombessa; Mane.

Historical Breakthrough.

1. 1938. In 1938, first living specimen was captured at a depth of 80 meter

from East London, South Africa after a trawl between Chalumna and
Neera rivers. This specimen is named as Latimeria Chalumnae by the
Smith, 1939. The generic name is given in the honour of miss courteny

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 Latimer, curator of East London Museum (South Africa) who recognized
it as unusual fish. The specific or species name is referred to the first
site of its capture, offshore the mouth of chalumna river of South Africa.
2. 1952. Second specimen is captured from Anjouan Island (Madagascar)
in 1952 by Comoran fisherman Atamadi Abdallahi. The specimen was
described as a different species of coelacanth, first as Malania hunti by
Smith, 1952 and later on as Malania anjounae after on as Malania
anjounae after Daniel Francois Malan, the South African Prime Minister.
Since then, more than 200 have been caught off the Islands of Grand
Comoro and Anjouan, at the depth of 150 to 400meters.
3. 1973. Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta have discovered some fossil of
coelacanths in 1973 from Lower Kota in Godavari valley. Estimated age
of fossils is 1,65,00000 years.
4. 1997. Arnaz and Mark Erdmann recorded a strange fish on the Islands
of Sulawesi, Indonesia in September, 18 1997. Sulawesi island is
situated in between Borneo, Philippines and Guinea. Later on, the
specimen is named as Latimeria menadoensis, second species of
Latimeria.

Species.

Genus Latimeria is the sole surviving representative of the coelacanth and

at present has only two rare species in the biosphere, namely:

1. L. chalumnae: West Indian ocean coelacanth.

2. L. menadoensis : Indonesian coelacanth; Raja lant; King of the sea.

Distribution.

Latimeria is a peculiar bony fish and distributed along the coast lines of the
Indian Ocean and Indonesia. At present, there are only two species of two
Latimeria and both are rare and threatened. However, L. Chalumnae is a
critically endangered species. It follows the oldest known living lineage of
Sarcoptery gii that is lobe finned fish and tetrapods. They are closely

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related to the lung fishes and tetrapods than the Ray finned fishes and
cartilage fishes.

Habitat.

These are bottom dwelling fish and inhabitant of marine ecosystem but
prefer coastlines of Indian Ocean and Indonesia. Latimena lives as deep as
700 meter (2300 ft) below the sea level but normally recorded at the depth
of 90 to 200 meters (300 to 660 ft). However, they can survive at the depth
of 1,000 meters. They prefer cold and well oxygenated water.

Habits.

Laternaria is a living fossil, carnicorus in diet and opportunistic feeders.

They swim head down, backwards or belly up to locate their prey,
presumably using their rostral glands. They regulate their metabolism at will
power, sinking into the less inhabited depth and minimizing their nutritional
requirement in sort of hibernation or winters leep.

They will rise or sink to find variable dim light condition at the temperature
14 to ℃ . Amount of O2 absorbed from surrounding water through
respiratory organ gills is dependent upon the water temperature.

Morphology.

Latimeria chalumnae is of deep or steel blue in colouration whilst, L.

menadoensis is brown in colouration. Size is variable from 0.75 to 6 feet
long and weight is around 200 pounds. Externally it is covered by thick
scales for the protection. Body has paired lobe fins. These are
pedunculated type and extended away from the body and used as legs
and move in an alternating pattern like a trotting horse.

Each fin has a short scale covered lobe and the fin rays are arranged on
the tip in a fan shaped manner. Two dorsal fins are present that is anterior
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and posterior. Anterior dorsal fin is supported by bony plate while, posterior
dorsal fin is almost like that of paired fins.

Spines are present at the back of the fish. Life span is around 60 years or
more. Exoskeleton is composed of cosmid scales and these scales are
rounded and overlapped in a manner that body looks like a three scaled
structures. Paired fins are used for swimming as well as walking at the sea
bottom, caudal fin is of diphycercal type with a small median lobe. Fin rays
are highly mobile. Swimming is performed by rotating the pectoral fins and
highly mobile paired fins. Electro-sensory system, rostral organs is present
in the snout.

Anatomy.

Skull has hinged joint which allow the fish to widen its mouth to grasp or
engulf the large sized preys. Oil filled tube notochord is present, dorsally
and it acts as a backbone. Notochord is rod like and unconstricted.
Vertebral column is a hollow un-ossified tube with ossified neural and
haemal spines.

Fin spines are hollow that’s why Latimeria named as coelacanth (hollow
spine). Skull has well developed hinge joint between condyle of the
posterior end of basisphenoid and a cavity at the anterior end if the
occipital region of the skull. Hinge joint allows the movement of the anterior
portion of the skull and jaws for the feeding.

Physiology.

Digestive system.

It is composed of alimentary canal and digestive gland.

1. Alimentary canal or Gut.

i). Mouth. It is bounded by upper and lower jaws with minute teth. Jaws
are powerful for grasping the prey. Mouth leads to buccal cavity.

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ii). Buccal cavity.
It is a wide spacious cavity and leads to muscular oesophagus. Swim
bladder is developed from the oesophagus.
iii). Stomach.
Oesophagus leads to the bag like structure, stomach.
iv). Intestine.
Stomach leads to intestine. It is spiral and continuous as rectum and
cloacal pouch. Cloacal pouch has urino-genital papilla. A spiral valve
and a median nodular organ (=rectal gland of Selachian) is present.
v). Cloaca.
Rectum is open into the cloaca for the egestion of undigested food
waste.

2. Digestive glands.
i). Liver.
It is bilobed, well developed and has enlarged gall bladder.
ii). Pancreas.
It is also well developed to secrete digestive enzymes.

Swim bladder.
Swim bladder is variable and it originates as a long tube (3 to 8 cm) from
the ventral side of the oesophagus. It continuously moves backward, to the
dorsal side of the abdominal cavity. The cavity of swim bladder is highly
reduced and contain 95% of fatty tissues. Swim bladder is neither a
hydrostatic nor a respiratory organ.

Respiratory System.
Respiratory organ is gills. A deep spiracular pouch without mandibular
pseudobranch and external opening is present. The gills are made up of
small hyoidean hemibranch on the posterior surface of the hyoid arch and
four holobranchs. Fifth branchial arch is reduced and without gill.

Circulatory system.
Simple two chambered heart (auricle and ventricle) with two accessory
chambers (conus arteriosis and sinus venosus) is present ventrally. Sinus
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venosus and auricle are located behind the ventricle and conus arteriosus
with four rows of endocardial thickenings on its inner wall. These
thickenings are referred as pseudovalves or reduced valves to regulate the
blood flow.
RBCs are of large sized and almost similar to the Dipnomans and
Amphibian.

Nervous System.
Small sized brain is recorded and it is 1/100th of the cranial cavity.
Remaining space is filled with fatty tissue. Large sized corpus striatum is
observed in the cerebral hemisphere of the fore brain, and its roof is thin.

Sensory system.
Sensory organs are:
1. Eyes.
A pair of eyes are well developed. These are very sensitive
photoreceptor to have tapetum lucidium. Number of rod cells are higher
for the perfect dim light vision. Tapetum lucidium and rods play the role
in better vision in dark water.
2. Rostral organs.
These are present around the snout. Each rostral organ is composed of
large sac and communicate with the surrounding environment with the
help of the rostral tubes, on each side of the snout. T is not connected
with the olfactory organ. Rostral organ is filled with the gelatinous
substance. Rostral organ is innervated by ophthalmic cranial nerves.
Function of rostral organ is not clear.
3. Internal ear.
It is well developed for hearing and balance.
4. Laterline system.
It is also well developed to maintain the orientation of the fish.
5. Olfactory organs.
A pair of olfactory organs are present. They are communicating with the
external environment by nasal tubes.

Urino-genital system.
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1. Kidneys.
A pair of kidneys are present. These are ventral in position however, in
the rest of the vertebrates, kidneys are dorsal in position. Both kidneys
are fused to form a median structure and it is attached to the ventral wall
of the abdominal cavity.
2. Ureter.
A pair of ureters are present and each ureter delates into a urinary
bladder. Ureters open into the urinogenital papilla.
3. Cloaca.
Excretory wastes are released into the external environment through
cloacal aperture.

Reproduction.
Gonads are paired and with gonoducts. Gonoducts open between the
bases of pelvic fin. Sexually maturity is recorded at the age of 20 years.

Fertilization.
Internal fertilization is recorded in Latimeria.

Development.
Female is viviparous or ovoviviparous. Gestation period is around 13
months to 5 years. Developing embryo feed on yolk provided by the
mother. Eggs are about 1 to 9 cm and weigh up to 100 to 350 gram.
Near term, juveniles are about 35 cm in length and weight is around 500
gram. Till date, two females carrying pups have been captured. One
gave birth to 5 pups and other 26 pups. Pups are capable of surviving
on their own immediately after birth.

Affinities of Latimeria with Coelocanthiformes.

1. The paired fins are perfectly resembled with Actinopterygians.
2. The endoskeleton of fins is archipterygial type i.e., composed of a single
basal plate attached with girdle.
3. The skull is resembled with osteolepides by the presence of movable
hinge joint between parietal and post-pariental.
4. Anatomical similarties with chondrichthyes.
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5. Physiological similarties with chondrichythes like osmoregultion.
6. Maintenance of higher concentration of urea in the blood like
Elasnobranch. Thus, internal environment become isotonic with the sea,
7. Structure of pituitary gland is resembled with chondrichthyes.
8. Similarties with bony fish in skeleton.
9. Similarities with bony fish in skeleton, bony plates and swim bladder.

Affinities of Latimeria with Rhipidistians.

1. Poor ossified vertebral column in both.

2. Cosmoid scales are present in both.
3. Structure of pectoral and pelvic girdles are similar in both.
4. Presence of intracranial hinge in both are similar however, mechanism is
different.

Affinities of Latimeria with Amphibians.

1. Skull of Latimeria is resembled with earliest amphibians.

2. Paired lobed fins of Latimeria are similar to the proximal skeletal
elements of tetrapods limb.
3. Bones of paired fins articulate in similar manner of pelvic and pectoral
girdle.
4. Swim bladder of Latimeria is exactly similar to the lungs of Amphibians.
5. Presence of internal nares piercing the roof of mouth cavity but not
meant for the breathing.

Evolution of Latimeria.

Latimeria is a slowest evolving nimal of all known vertebrates. It is well

adapted to the surrounding environment. They have appeared first time in
the early Triassic period. Cladistics analysis shows the close resemblance
of Latimeria with genus Swenzia of Late Jurassic period of Europe.
Swenzia leaving a long ghost lineage of over 150 million year from its
closed relative.

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Molecular study estimated that the divergence time between two species
that is Latimeria chalumnae and Latimeria menadoensis is 40 to 30 million
years (Inow et. Al. 2005). The coelacanths, a side line of the
Crossopterygians because these fishes survived for much longer period
than any other vertebrates.

They are originating from a common crossopterygian ancestors possibly in

the late Devonian period. They lived almost without any significant change
for a long span of time.

The first coelacanth fossil that is Coelacanthus was recorded in

carboniferous strata of fresh water and that of Undina in Mesozoic strata of
marine water. Many fossils were recorded in Mesozoic era however, no
coelacanth was recorded beyon Mesozoic era. It was thought that it extinct
about 50,000,000 years ago.

But in 1938 a living specimen is discovered and named it as Latimeria. It

persists since the Jurassic period or earlier with very little change. The
anatomical features of Latimeria is very special and specific, almost
paralled to the Teleosteri rather than Dipnoans.

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