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Their coloration is usually dark blue with distinctive white dots, but Latimeria menadoensis is often times a dark shade of brown. The white dots aid in camouflage against caverns and caves made out of dark rock that are encrusted with shells that are white.
Coelacanths on average are around 2 meters (six feet) long and weigh around to 150 pounds, but can grow much larger.
It is believed that a coelacanth can live up to 80 to 100 years.
Coelacanths are believed to be sexually mature after they are about twenty years old. They have a gestation time around a year to a year and a half. They give birth to between 5 and 25 offspring at once and the offspring are able to independently survive following birth.
Coelacanths possess large scales that serve as a type of thick armor, protecting almost the entire exterior of the fish. This is a common trait of many extinct prehistoric fish.
They have fairly large eyes, which are adapted to low light levels. The eye is adapted to seeing in dim light and dark water by having many rods and receptors in the retina. The downside of this type of vision is that their eyes are very sensitive, which makes them relatively inactive during daytime.
Coelacanths have eight total fins, including two dorsal and pectoral fins, two pelvic fins, and two tail fins. They have several attributes that make it distinguishable from other fish. One of these is that they possess a three-lobed tail, also called a trilobated tail. The dorsal and pectoral fins also hang out far from the body, similar to animals’ legs, and alternate in movement.
The coelacanths also have a large hinge, called the intracranial joint, in their skulls that allows them to make their mouths very wide in order to consume large prey.
Their brain is almost entirely filled with fat (around 98.5%) and only 1.5% of the skull contains actual brain tissue.
Another distinct trait of the coelacanths is that they have a large type of lung filled with fat, which is thought to have similar function to the swim bladder of other fish (buoyancy control).
The coelacanth also has is differently shaped heart than most other fish because the chambers of the heart are organized in a linear tube.
They also have a structure in the front of their skull on their snout, which is a type of electroreceptive organ, called a rosteral organ, that is believed to be utilized in order to find prey.
The backbone of a coelacanth is called a notochord, which is an oil-filled, hollow tube that is pressurized. Most other vertebrates only posses this structure during the embryonic development.
