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CoelacanthLatimeria chalumnae aggregates in caves: first observations on their resting habitat and social behavior

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We report first observations on social behavior ofLatimeria chalumnae in its natural environment at around 200 m depth in the Comoro Archipelago, Western Indian Ocean. Coelacanths aggregate in small nonaggressive groups in sheltered lava-caves. They live in open site-attached social systems with individuals occupying large overlapping home ranges of more than 8 km coastline, some for a period of at least 2 years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie, 8130, Seewiesen, Federal Republic of Germany

    Hans Fricke, Jürgen Schauer, Karen Hissmann & Lutz Kasang

  2. Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Station Marine d'Endoume, 13007, Marseille, France

    Raphael Plante

Authors
  1. Hans Fricke
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  2. Jürgen Schauer
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  3. Karen Hissmann
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  4. Lutz Kasang
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  5. Raphael Plante
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Fricke, H., Schauer, J., Hissmann, K. et al. CoelacanthLatimeria chalumnae aggregates in caves: first observations on their resting habitat and social behavior. Environ Biol Fish 30, 281–286 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02028843

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02028843

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