Coelacanth, which is known as slot A 'living fossil' because it is a primitive fish that has maintained its species for 420 million years. It may have lived longer than scientists thought.
The coelacanth was originally believed to have a life expectancy of about 20 years, but a recent study by a team of French researchers A study published in the journal Current Biology found that they may have lived on Earth for hundreds of years. Like some sharks and roughy
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Polarized light was used to examine the streaks on the coelacanth scales. which is an indicator of the age of the fish as the year ring indicates the age of the tree Using this special type of light, the researchers discovered a large number of additional microscopic streaks on fish scales. When taken into account, it can be pointed out that Coelacanths can live up to a century.
Examination of two coelacanth larvae kept in the museum also showed that Both larvae were around 5 years old, indicating that female coelacanths had an incredibly long gestation period.
Coelacanths are found along the coast of Indonesia and eastern Africa.
These new data indicate that In addition to being a slow moving fish. Coelacanths also grow at a very slow rate. The female fish will reach full maturity at the age of nearly 60 years and the male fish will enter the same age range when they are 40 - 69 years old.
The coelacanth grows slowly and has few offspring. making them extremely vulnerable to extinction Consequently, conservationists need to know accurate information about its life expectancy and demographic characteristics. To further plan and carry out conservation work of this rare fish species.
By the beginning of the 20th century, scientists thought that the coelacanth was extinct from Earth. But it was seen again in 1938 after it got caught in a fisherman's net off the coast of South Africa. An adult coelacanth can be as large as 1.8 meters and weigh more than 90 kilograms.
There are currently only two coelacanth habitats in the world. is on the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. and along the eastern coast of Africa The latter group of coelacanth populations may be only a few hundred.