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Macintosh Picture Format  |  1996-09-10  |  292.7 KB  |  640x480  |  8-bit (193 colors)
   ocr: - 17 Coelacantha COELACANTHS BELONG TO AN ANCIENT LINEAGE OF FISHLIKE vertebrates that first appeared some 360 million years ago, about the time the first creatures emerged from the sea. In evolutionary terms, these ancient "fishes" are more closely related to land animals than to modern fish. Note the specimen's paired fins. They are lobelike and actually have jointed bones like arms and legs. Coelacanths use these leglike fins for moving slowly through the water, never for walking on the bottom. The tail fin serves to increase speed when the fish is disturbed and the fringed top fin is used ...