West Indian Ocean coelacanth

Classification

Chordata › Actinistia › Latimeriidae

1. Kingdom Animalia animals
   • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
   • Cells have no cell walls
   • Most can move at some stage of life
2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
   • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
   • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
   • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
   • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
   • Includes echinoderms and chordates
4. Phylum Chordata chordates
   • At some stage of life: a stiffening rod along the back (notochord)
   • A hollow nerve cord along the back (dorsal)
   • Slits in the throat (pharyngeal slits) and a tail past the anus
5. Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
   • A skull (cranium) protecting a brain
   • Backbone or similar support around the nerve cord
   • Includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
6. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
   • Jawed vertebrates: jaws formed from gill arches
   • Paired fins or limbs
   • Includes all fishes except hagfish and lampreys, plus all tetrapods
7. Superclass Osteichthyes bony vertebrates
   • Bony vertebrates: skeleton made largely of bone
   • Most have a lung or swim bladder
   • Includes ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes and all tetrapods
8. Clade Sarcopterygii lobe-finned vertebrates
   • Lobe-finned: fleshy fins with bones like those of limbs
   • Includes coelacanths, lungfishes, and all tetrapods
9. Class Actinistia coelacanths
   • Coelacanths: fleshy, limb-like fins
   • A small extra lobe in the middle of the tail
10. Family Latimeriidae living coelacanths
    • The only living coelacanths, thought extinct until 1938
11. Genus Latimeria
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
12. Species Latimeria chalumnae West Indian Ocean coelacanth