Endangered Species Act Status Review Report for the Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae)
October 01, 2014
This report is the status review for the African coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae. This report summarizes the best available data and information on the species and presents an evaluation of its status and extinction risk.
This status review is in response to a petition to list 81 species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Fisheries decided that the petition had sufficient merit for consideration and that a status review was warranted for 27 of the 81 species, including the African coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae. This status review interprets the best available information available on the African coelacanth, and is used to evaluate its status in the context of consideration for ESA listing.