The West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae), sometimes known as the African coelacanth is one of two extant species of coelacanth, a rare order of vertebrates more closely related to lungfish, reptiles and mammals than to the common ray-finned fishes. It has a vivid blue pigment, and is the better known of the two extant species. The species has been assessed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.