📸 PhotoPhoto: Claudio Martino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Sulawesi coelacanth
Latimeria menadoensis (Sulawesi coelacanth · インドネシアシーラカンス)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 This species first became known at a fish market in Manado, Indonesia, in 1997 and was described as a new species in 1999.
- 💡 A depth of 155 m is the height of just over 50 stories when counting one apartment story as 3 m (Comparison), and its maximum length of 1.4 m is about the height of an elementary school student (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Sulawesi coelacanth is a large fish around 1.4 m long living in the deep waters off northern Sulawesi, first brought to light at a fish market in 1997.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
The pattern of white spots on its flanks differs from individual to individual and is used to identify the same fish. When swimming, it mainly moves its second dorsal fin, anal fin, and pectoral fins.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
FishBase considers it to inhabit rocky slopes at depths of 150–200 m and notes that two individuals measuring 120 cm and 140 cm were observed in a cave at a depth of 155 m. In October 2024, it was confirmed for the first time in North Maluku at a depth of 144 m.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List VU (2008) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/135484/4129545
- • IUCN Red List category VU — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 6P34C
- • iucnredlist.org — 4129545
- • wikidata.org — Q1156533
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Indonesian coelacanth, Expo 2015.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Latimeria-menadoensis.html
- • pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — PMC12019534
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Chuanixn Yu · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Latimeria chalumnae)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.