The genus has long been used to group unrelated species of coelacanths, and several other species that were first referred to Coelacanthus were later reallocated to other genera.[2]Coelacanthus minor was considered by Woodward (1891) as potentially belonging to the Triassic genus Heptanema,[4] while Martin and Wenz (1984) considered Coelacanthus lunzensis a possible synonym of Garnbergia.[5]Coelacanthus madagascariensis from the Early Triassic of Madagascar was reattributed to the genus Rhabdoderma, and Coelacanthus evolutus is a synonym of Whiteia woodwardi.[6]
The following are considered species that likely do not belong to this genus due to either lack of phylogenetic analysis or incomplete remains, but have not yet been reclassified:[2]
†'C.' banffensisLambe, 1916 - Early Triassic of Alberta, Canada (sometimes considered a species of Whiteia, as W. banffensis)[7]
Coelacanthus bears a superficial similarity to the living coelacanthLatimeria, though it was smaller, and had a more elongated head. Individuals grew up to 0.7 metres (2.3 ft) in length, had an elongate codavypter or supplementary tail lobe, and had small lobed fins, suggesting that Coelacanthus were open-water predators. The fin rays of the caudal fin are hollow, which gave Coelacanthus its name. The name is an adaptation of the Modern Latin cœlacanthus ("hollow spine"), from the Greek κοῖλ-ος (koilos; "hollow") and ἄκανθ-α (akantha; "spine"). These hollow spines are a typical feature of coelacanths.
References
^Agassiz, L. 1839. Recherches sur les poissons fossiles II. Petitpierre, Neuchâtel.
^Woodward A. S. 1891. Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History). Part II. London.
^M. Martin and S. Wenz. 1984. Découverte d'un nouveau Coelacanthidé, Garnbergia ommata n.g., n.sp., dans le Muschelkalk supérieur du Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie) 105:1-17
^Forey P. L. (1998) History of the coelacanth fishes (Chapman & Hall, London).
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