Coelacanth, the "Hollow Spine," is
a rare fish that has roamed the 
oceans for hundreds of millions of 
years since the Devonian Period. 
With a length of two meters, the
coelacanth compares in size to other 
fishes that lived during its long
existence. In the over four hundred
million years since the Devonian 
Period, the coelacanth has changed 
its form little. For a hundred years,
science believed it to be extinct
before its rediscovery. 

Upon rediscovery in 1938, the 
coelacanth cemented itself as a 
living fossil. Living along African 
coasts and in Indonesian waters, 
its food and temperature needs 
restrict it to these areas. It 
feeds in underwater caves and 
crevices ay night, but During the 
day, it rests and saves vital energy 
for feeding time. The coelacanth's 
existence is threatened by deep-sea
trawling, despite the lack of
of commercial value for the fish
(apart from museums and private 
collectors). Only two species of
coelacanth remain alive today, both
threatened, making them some of the
most endangered animals on Earth.
Many governments around the world 
allocate money to the conservation 
of the coelacanth population, of 
which no more than a few hundred is 
estimated; without this important 
effort, the animal that braved 
more than four hundred million years
may join the past with extinction.
