Occurrence in South Africa is based on a specimen (long thought to be a stray) taken off the Chalumna River at a depth of 70 m on 21 December 1938 and preserved as a mounted specimen in the East London Museum. Also on the sighting of a juvenile (1 m) and an adult (1.6 - 1.8 m) in Sodwana Bay, northeast coast.

Although only a single specimen of the coelacanth has been caught off South Africa, the discovery of this specimen did much to put South Africa and J.L.B. Smith on the ichthyological map of the world. Thanks to the efforts of J.L.B. and Margaret Smith, French anatomists, and more recently, Hans Fricke's observations and films of coelacanths in their natural habitat at Grand Comoro Island, we have learned much about this fascinating fish. A brief history of the discovery of the first and second specimens known to science is given below, followed by a summary of what is known about the biology and ecology of the coelacanth. The detailed account of the astonishing discovery of the first living coelacanth and J.L.B. Smith's search for the home of Latimeria is told in his book Old Fourlegs: The Story of the Coelacanth (Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1956; 260 pp).

Heading for East London on 21 December 1938, the Irvin & Johnson trawler Nerine made a last haul in a depth of about 70 m off the Chalumna River. The catch included an assortment of sharks and a large blue fish with a peculiar tail. Captain Hendrik Goosen often saved anything unusual from his catches for Majorie Courtenay-Latimer, the young curator of the East London Museum; and the extraordinary blue fish was left with some sharks at the harbour for Miss Latimer. The next morning, Miss Latimer was notified that the Nerine had docked with some specimens for her. Sorting through the pile of sharks, rays, etc., she found "the most beautiful fish I had ever seen ... It was 5 feet long and a pale mauvy blue with irridescent silver markings." She resolved to take the fish to the museum, and with the help of her assistant, they carried it in a bag to the taxi. The taxi driver objected "No stinking fish in my taxi!" Miss Latimer replied, "Well you can go, the fish is not stinking -- I will call another taxi." With that, he allowed them to put it in the boot of the taxi. The fish was preserved as a mounted specimen, because there was no suitable preserving tank or freezer at the museum. Frustrated in her attempts to identify the fish, Miss Latimer sought the assistance of Dr J.L.B. Smith, who was then a lecturer in chemistry at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. Smith was also a self-taught ichthyologist and had already published several papers on the marine fishes of South Africa. The strange blue fish was recognised as a coelacanth by Smith, and his publication of the description of this "living fossil" (which he named Latimeria chalumnae in honour of Miss Courtenay-Latimer and the river near where it was caught) astounded the international zoological community.

Unfortunately, the internal organs of the fish were discarded by the taxidermist before the value of this unique fish was realised; consequently, it was of great importance to find a second, intact specimen. By the late 1940s, there was little doubt that the East London coelacanth was a stray; and J.L.B. Smith deduced that the home of the coelacanth was to the north, in the Mozambique Channel. A poster depicting a coelacanth and offering a reward of £100 (hence the "hundred-pound-fish") resulted in one caught in December of 1952 at the Comoro Islands being given to Captain Eric Hunt. News of this second coelacanth was telegraphed to J.L.B. Smith, who, fearing that it might not be properly preserved, contacted the South African Prime Minister, Dr D.F. Malan, for assistance in the speedy retrieval of the specimen. Dr Malan understood the value to science of this second known coelacanth, and he arranged for an Air Force plane to take Professor Smith to the Comoros to fetch the fish. J.L.B. Smith was greatly relieved to see that Eric Hunt had identified the coelacanth correctly and that it was adequately preserved.

Since 1952, more than 170 coelacanths have been caught with hook and line in depths of 100 - 400 m on the steep volcanic slopes of Grand Comoro and Anjouan. The natives were familiar with the fish, which they called "gombessa"; but they did not eat it and had no use for it. The local fishermen would catch two or three per year while fishing for oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus) at night from canoes.

The coelacanth feeds on small deep-reef fishes. Beryx, Polymixia, Symphysanodon, apogonids, a skate, an eel, and a swell shark have been found in its stomach. Judging from its sluggish lifestyle and the small surface area of its gills, the coelacanth has a low metabolic rate and, consequently, its food (energy) requirements are relatively low for such a big fish. This low-energy lifestyle is an advantage on the relatively barren volcanic slopes and specialised habitat of the coelacanth where food is scarce.