[ 'si:ləkanθ ]
■ noun a large bony marine fish with a three-lobed tail fin and fleshy pectoral fins, known only from fossils until one was found alive in 1938. [ Latimeria chalumnae .]
Origin
C19: from mod. L. Coelacanthus (genus name), from Gk koilos 'hollow' + akantha 'spine' (because its fins have hollow spines).