Abstract:
A list is presented of all known specimens of the
coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae Smith 1939 and L.
menadoensis Pauyaud et al. 1999. It is based on a
previous inventory, published by the Coelacanth
Conservation Council (CCC) in Environmental
Biology of Fishes (EBF) 32: 371–390 (1991), extended
with new catches and a new survey of the
literature and extensive correspondence with
museums, aquariums, universities and other
institutional holdings worldwide. There has also
been a complete check and update of the Millot
et al. inventory (1978) housed at the National
Museum for Natural History (MNHN) in Paris.
At least 299 coelacanths are known to have been
caught since the first coelacanth was found off
South Africa in 1938. Subsequent specimens were
caught in the Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique,
Kenya, Indonesia and Tanzania. As of 8 September
2003, the capture list is dominated by coelacanth
captures in Tanzania whereas the number of
catches in the Comoros stabilised or decreased
over the last 10 years. We express our hope that the
implementation of the Tanga Coelacanth Marine
Park, gazetted on 28 August 2009, will play a role
in reducing catches in Tanzania during the years
to come.
