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Coelacanthiformes

File:Coelacanth_off_Pumula_on_the_KwaZulu-Natal_South_Coast,_South_Africa,_on_22_November_2019.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Coelacanthiformes

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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.

OverviewAI-generated

Coelacanthiformes is an order of organisms within the class Coelacanthi, phylum Chordata, and kingdom Animalia. It is also classified under the parent taxon Actinistia, which is part of Sarcopterygii. The order has a start time of about 409 million years ago and is accepted in taxonomic status. Its common name is kvastfinnefisker.

The organisms in this order reproduce via ovoviviparity. Their habitats include marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. Records for Coelacanthiformes are held by institutions such as UCMP, CMC, NHMUK, KU, and YPM, with occurrences documented in the United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and Greenland.

Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Gbif Occ, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Coelacanthiformes

ORDER

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassCoelacanthi
  4. OrderCoelacanthiformes
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
Observations recorded3,690

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
80
With media
8
Collections
UCMP, CMC, NHMUK, KU, YPM
Recorded in
United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Greenland

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

9 sections
Contents
  • 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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Coelacanthiformes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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