Coelacanth vs Red-and-green Macaw

Latimeria chalumnae compared with Ara chloropterus

Key Differences

• Coelacanth is Critically Endangered while Red-and-green Macaw is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coelacanth	Red-and-green Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Coelacanthi (Coelacanthi)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Coelacanthiformes (Coelacanthiformes)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Latimeriidae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Latimeria	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Latimeria chalumnae	Ara chloropterus

Evolutionary Relationship

Coelacanth and Red-and-green Macaw share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Coelacanth

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~500

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Red-and-green Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coelacanth	Red-and-green Macaw
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	100 years	—
Average Length	1.8 m	—
Average Weight	80.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic 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.

Red-and-green Macaw

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (United Arab Emirates), Europe (Norway, United Kingdom), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

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.

Red-and-green Macaw

Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.