1. A large marine fish of the genus Latimeria, a coelacanth found off the coast of southern Africa, notable for being a living fossil with few changes since prehistoric times.
Usage: scientific/zoological term; usually capitalized when referring to the genus; also called coelacanth

Examples

• The latimeria was thought to be extinct until a living specimen was discovered in 1938.
• Scientists study latimeria to understand how fish evolved over millions of years.
• The latimeria's fins resemble limbs, suggesting a link between fish and land animals.
• Deep-sea expeditions have found several species of latimeria in the Indian Ocean.
• The discovery of latimeria challenged the theory that all prehistoric fish had disappeared.