At 08:37 PM 4/5/98 -0500, Ron Chitwood wrote:
>GM>>>It was long supposed that coelacanths became extinct about 60
>>million years ago, but in 1938 a living member (Latimeria chalumnae) was
>>netted in the Indian Ocean near the southern coast of Africa<<<
>
>Apparently I learned English in a different system. To my unwashed mind
>this refers to Latimera being presumeably extinct until a coelacanth was
>caught.
I went to my database so I could get things correct. The source for this
is Carroll, Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution.
Coelacanths refers to the biological family Coelecanthidae. Here are the
known fossil Coelacanth genera and note that Latimera, the modern genera, is
not listed.
Class Order suborder amily Genus
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Axelia
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Bunoderma
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Chinlea
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Coccoderma
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Coelocanthropsis
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Coelacanthus
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Cualabaea
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Diplurus
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Graphiurichthys
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Heptanema
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Libys
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Macropoma
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Macropomoides
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Mawsonia
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Miguashaia
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Moenkopia
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Mylacanthus
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Piveteauvia
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Rhipis
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Sassenia
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Scleracanthus
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Sinocoelacanthus
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Spermatodus
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Whiteia
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Coelacanthidae Wimania
All of the above range in rocks from Devonian to Cretaceous. The modern
coelacanth is classed as
Sarcopterygii Crossopterygii Coelacanthiformes Latimeriidae Latimeria
So, Not only is the modern form not in the same genera, it is not even in
the same FAMILY as any fossil coelacanthiform.
glenn
Adam, Apes, and Anthropology: Finding the Soul of Fossil Man
and
Foundation, Fall and Flood
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm