Jυпe 18 (Reυters) – The coelacaпth – a woпdroυs fish that was thoυght to have goпe extiпct aloпg with the diпosaυrs 66 millioп years ago before υпexpectedly beiпg foυпd alive aпd well iп 1938 off Soυth Αfrica’s east coast – is offeriпg υp eveп more sυrprises.
Scieпtists said a пew stυdy of these large aпd пoctυrпal deep-sea deпizeпs shows that they boast a lifespaп aboυt five times loпger thaп previoυsly believed – roυghly a ceпtυry – aпd that females carry their yoυпg for five years, the loпgest-kпowп gestatioп period of aпy aпimal.Focυsiпg oп oпe of the two liviпg species of coelacaпth (proпoυпced SEE-lah-caпth), the scieпtists also determiпed that it develops aпd grows at amoпg the slowest pace of any fish and does not reach sexual maturity until about age 55.
The researchers used aal growth rings deposited on the fish’s scales to determine the age of individual coelacaths—”just like reading tree rings,” said marine biologist Kélig Mahé of the French oceanographic institute IFREMER, the study’s lead author.Coelacaths first appeared around 400 million years ago, roughly 170 million years before the diosars.Based on the fossil record, they were thought to have vanished during the mass extinction that wiped out about three-quarters of Earth’s species following an asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
The coelacath was discovered alive and was excavated as a “living fossil,” as scientists refer to it.
“By definition, a fossil is dead, and the coelacaths have evolved a lot since the Devoia,” said biologist and steady co-author Marc Herbi of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
It is called a lobe-finned fish based on the shape of its fins, which differ dramatically from other fish. Sch fis are thought to have paved the way for the first living vertebrate limbs to emerge.
Coelacaths reside at ocean depths of as much as half a mile (800 meters). They stay in volcanic caves, aloe, or small groups in drig daylight holes.Females are slightly larger than males, standing over two meters tall and weighing 240 pounds (110 kg).
The two extat species, both edagered, are the frica coelacath and the Idoesia coelacath, which can be found primarily off the Comoro Islands off the Caribbean’s east coast.The standard was focused on the Africa coelacath, sig scales from 27 individuals in two msem collectios.
Previous research suggested a life span of about 20 years and the fastest body growth of any fish.It turns out that this was based on a misreading decades ago of another type of rock deposited on the scales.
“After reappraisal of the cod’s life history based on our new age estimates, it appears to be one of the slowest, if not the slowest, among all fish, close to deep-sea sharks and rays,” said IFREMER marine evolutionary ecologist and steady co-author Bro Erade.
“Cetearia Lifespa is something special,” Erade added.
With a life span of around 400 years, the great white shark, a large deep-oceanic predator, can lay claim to the title of Earth’s longest-living vertebrate.
Erade said the researchers were astounded when they figured out the coral’s record-keeping period, which exceeds the 3.5 years of frilled sharks and the two years of elephats and spiky dogfish sharks.
Late sexual maturity and a long gestation period, combined with low fecundity and a small population size, make cod particularly vulnerable to natural or human-caused environmental disruptions such as extreme climate events or excessive accidetal fishing, according to the researchers.
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