The next coelacanth was not caught until 1952. Since then at least 200 Coelacanths have been caught in and around the Comoro Islands. In 1998 a new population was discovered off North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Indonesian coelacanths appear quite similar to those from Africa except they are brown in color rather than blue and their sides sport gold flecks. The Indonesian coelacanth has been given the scientific name Latimeria menadoensis .
Coelacanths comprise one of the two groups of lobe-finned fish.
The other group contains the Rhipidistia, all of whose members are assumed to be extinct. Coelacanths probably evolved from the Rhipidistia. See the Coelacanth section of my cryptozoology links page for more sites offering information about the coelacanth. For more information about coelacanth stamps, see Glynn Peacock's Coelacanths on Stamps and Sunny's Coelacanth Postage Stamp Exhibit . In addition to the postage stamps listed below, South Africa used the coelacanth in a postal cancelation .