Where do Coelacanths live?

Coelocanths in the Comoros live at depths of 100-400 meters at temperatures of 13-18 °C. During the day they typically rest in small groups in volcanic caves along steep slopes. The Sulawesi coelacanths were caught at a similar depth near Manado Tua, a young volcanic island. In addition, temperature monitoring by Dr. Mark Erdmann has shown that the temperature at which they were caught was also consistent with the Comoros. During the first week of November, 1999, Dr. Hans Fricke and his team arrived in Manado with their submersible vehicle Jago. Working with Dr. Erdmann, they plan to begin dives later in the month off Manado Tua to attempt to locate, census and photograph the Sulawesi coelacanths.


World map showing known populations of coelacanths:





Close-up map of North Sulawesi showing location of discovery:

Map of North Sulawesi provided by Peter Loud, for more maps visit Peter's web site



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