Re: How large was the colecanth, the extinct fish? Was it a fish, a mammal?

Hi Jason:

You'll be happy to hear that the Coelacanth is not actually extinct! It was originally thought to be, because it was only ever found in the form of fossils. However, specimens caught by fishermen off the coast of Madagascar in the 1930's showed this was not the case. As well as the colonies found off Madagascar, they have also recently been caught off Indonesia.

Coelacanths are indeed fish, not mammals. I've seen some preserved specimens in various museums, and they've all been around 4 or 5 feet long.

There's lots of information on the web about Coelacanths, click here to see results courtesy of Yahoo that will give you all the information you'll ever want to know about Coelacanths.

Hope that helps!
Rob Campbell, MAD Scientist