Paleontologists in China have described a new species of the coelacanth genus White based on two fossilized specimens. This discovery expands the spatial range White in the Early Triassic and documents the oldest species of the genus in Asia, pre-dating the oldest record of white-headed coelacanths on that continent by 9 million years.
Waitia of the Year right side view – holotype. Image credit: Dai etc.., doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-20229-w.
“Coelacanths – a curious group of sarcopterygian fishes, represented by two modern marine species of the genus Coelacanth” said lead author Dr. Guan-Hui Xu, a paleontologist from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and colleagues.
“This group was first known in the Early Devonian, reached a peak in taxonomic diversity in the Early Triassic, but declined after the mid-Cretaceous.”
“Coelacanths are significant in evolutionary biology due to their unique combination of physiological and anatomical characteristics and ability to survive four major extinction events over hundreds of millions of years.”
“Opening Coelacanth once sparked debate about how this bizarre lobe-finned fish fits into the evolution of land animals.”
“Because of evolutionary conservatism, coelacanths have long been considered one of the most morphologically conserved groups of vertebrates.”
“However, several studies, particularly those based on Triassic fossils, have shown that coelacanth body shapes are more diverse than previously thought.”
“In recent years, new species have appeared recovered from fossil sites around the world constantly give valuable evidence for studying the evolution of the coelacanth.”
A new species of coelacanth, named Waitia of the Yearlived about 249 million years ago during the Smithian era of the Early Triassic.
Fish belongs to Whitea genus of extinct coelacanths previously known from Madagascar, South Africa, Canada and Greenland, but not Asia.
“As the first entry White from the Early Triassic of Asia, the new find significantly expands the spatial range of this genus and provides an important addition to our understanding of the evolution of this major Triassic coelacanth clade,” the paleontologists said.
Two copies Waitia of the Year were discovered in Lower Triassic marine sediments exposed at Maoshankou in the Anhui province of China.
Fossils show that the total body length of this coelacanth was between 41 and 46 cm, significantly longer than other named species in the genus.
“It was previously reported White In the Early Triassic, species were typically small, ranging from 11.5cm to 27cm in total length, and a small and slender body shape was once thought to be characteristic of the genus,” the researchers said.
“Recently, the recovery Vaitia gigantea (estimated total length greater than 100 cm) from Texas suggests an episode of acquisition of large body size by this genus in the Late Triassic of North America.”
“Our recovery Waitia of the Year from China provides an interesting example connecting small species White from Europe and Africa and those much larger relatives from North America in body size.”
teams paper was published on October 17 in the magazine Scientific reports.
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Quick help. Hard etc.. 2025. A new coelacanth (Actinistia, Sarcopterygii) from the Early Triassic of Anhui, China. scientific representative 15, 36320; doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-20229-w
