one of the best-known animals studied by cryptozoology . Coelacanth. Paragraph. Coelacanth (pronounced /ˈsiːləkænθ/ , adaptation of Modern Latin Cœlacanthus > cœl-us + acanth-us from Greek κοῖλ-ος [hollow] + ἄκανθ-α [spine]) is the common name for an order of fish that includes the oldest living lineage of gnathostomata known to date.