Researchers have discovered a well-preserved Devonian coelacanth fish (Ngamugawi Wirngarri’)  in Western Australia, shedding light on the connection between plate tectonics and evolutionary changes. 

About Coelacanths Fish

• Location: It live off the coasts of southern Africa and Indonesia and can reach up to two metres in length 
• Deep-sea fish: It  can live in depths up to 2,300 feet below the surface.
• “Lobe-finned” fish: It means they have robust bones in their fins a bit like the bones in our arms. 
• Old Fossil: It is oldest known fossils are more than 410 million years old 
  • It is thought to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs 65 million years ago (End of the Cretaceous period), but found first off South Africa in 1938 and then off the Comoro Island group northwest of Madagascar in 1952
• Coelacanths: These are described as “living fossils”.
  • Living Fossil → Organism that has remained unchanged from earlier geologic times and whose close relatives are usually extinct. 
  • Other Examples → Horseshoe crab and Ginkgo trees 
• Two living species: Latimeria chalumnae and Latimeria menadoensis.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN Status → Critically Endangered
    • Sulawesi Coelacanth is listed as ‘Vulnerable’
  • CITES Status → Appendix I

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Recent Findings

• Ngamugawi Wirngarri → First fish found in Gooniyandi Country in Western Australia
• Area Name → It’s in Gooniyandi language → Gooniyandi( also Konejandi) are an Aboriginal Australian people
• Fish Name Means →  “Ancient fish in honour of Wirngarri”, a respected elder of the community.
• Devonian Period → Best three-dimensionally preserved coelacanth from the Devonian Period (359 million to 419 million years ago). 
• Coelacanths → Generally evolved slowly
• Series of environmental factors influencing coelacanth evolutionary rates → Tectonic plate activity, Ocean temperatures, Water oxygen levels, and Atmospheric carbon dioxide