English Explanatory Dictionary

coelacanth

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of the class Actinistia of primitive lobe-finned fish, thought to have been extinct for 70 million years until a living specimen was discovered in 1938. Most species are large and plump and they all have bodies covered in tough elasmoid scales that act as armor.
  2. Either of the two extant species in this group; the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) or the Indonesian coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis).

Pronunciation

/ˈsiː.lə.kænθ/ En-us-coelacanth.ogg

Word forms

coelacanth coelacanths cœlacanth

Etymology

From the New Latin genus name Coelacanthus, from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koîlos, “hollow”) + ἄκανθα (ákantha, “spine”), referring to the hollow caudal fin rays of the first fossil specimen described and named by Louis Agassiz in 1839.

Synonyms

gombessa

Derived words

coelacanthid coelacanthine coelacanthous

Translations

Assamese: চিলাকেন্থ Assamese: চিলাকেন মাছ Chinese Cantonese: 矛尾魚 /矛尾鱼 Chinese Mandarin: 矛尾魚 /矛尾鱼 Finnish: latimeria French: cœlacanthe German: Quastenflosser Greek: κοιλάκανθος Hungarian: bojtosúszós maradványhal Indonesian: ikan raja laut Italian: celacanto Japanese: シーラカンス Occitan: celacant Polish: latimeria Portuguese: celacanto Romanian: celacant Russian: целака́нт Russian: латиме́рия Spanish: celacanto Swedish: kvastfening Swedish: havstofsstjärt Swedish: tofsstjärtfisk Swedish: blå kvastfening Sylheti: ꠍꠤꠟꠣꠇꠦꠘ ꠝꠣꠍ Vietnamese: cá vây tay
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