Big eye thresher shark vs Coelacanth

Alopias superciliosus compared with Latimeria chalumnae

Key Differences

• Big eye thresher shark is Vulnerable while Coelacanth is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big eye thresher shark	Coelacanth
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish)	Coelacanthi (Coelacanthi)
Order	Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks)	Coelacanthiformes (Coelacanthiformes)
Family	Alopiidae	Latimeriidae
Genus	Alopias	Latimeria
Species	Alopias superciliosus	Latimeria chalumnae

Evolutionary Relationship

Big eye thresher shark and Coelacanth share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Big eye thresher shark

VU — Vulnerable

Coelacanth

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~500

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big eye thresher shark	Coelacanth
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	100 years
Average Length	—	1.8 m
Average Weight	—	80.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big eye thresher shark

Habitat

Typically found in marine environments from coastal waters to deep ocean.

Range

Distributed across Chile, Colombia, Portugal, Taiwan, and Venezuela. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Coelacanth

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Comoros, Indonesia, Mozambique, and South Africa. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Big eye thresher shark

The Big eye thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus) is a species in the genus Alopias. It is currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in marine environments from coastal waters to deep ocean.

Coelacanth

A living fossil thought extinct for 65 million years until rediscovered off South Africa in 1938, coelacanths can reach 2 meters and 90 kg. They belong to an ancient lobe-finned lineage more closely related to tetrapods than to ray-finned fish, making them scientifically invaluable for understanding vertebrate evolution. Found in deep rocky reef habitats of the Indian Ocean, they are nocturnal and undergo internal fertilization, giving birth to fully formed live young. Critically Endangered.