New observations on the visceral anatomy of the late-term fetuses of the living coelacanth fish and the oophagy controversy

Abstract

A gravid coelacanth fish ( Latimeria chalumnae Smith, 1939) containing 26 near-term young, 31–36 cm total length, was caught off the coast of Mozambique in August 1991. Observations on the visceral anatomy of two of the near-term pups from this female demonstrated a well-developed internal yolksac that opens into the anterior end of the intestine. Recent dissection of a pup from the litter of five pups discovered in 1975 revealed a vitelline duct connecting the external yolksac with the intestine. This new information rebuts recent speculation of intra-uterine oophagy in Latimeria , and calls into question earlier reports on the anatomy of the previously known fetuses.