Coelacanth

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New Horizons fish

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New Horizons fish
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Coelacanth
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Latimeria chalumnae (West Indian Ocean coelacanth) Family: Latimeriidae (coelacanths)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  シーラカンス  矛尾鱼  Cœlacanthe  Celacanto  Celacanto  Латимерия  실러캔스  矛尾魚  Cœlacanthe  Celacanto  Quastenflosser  Coelacant

The coelacanth (pronounced ˈsiː.lə.kænθ, "see-luh-canth") is a sea fish in the Animal Crossing series that appears in all games. It appears year-round, under specific weather conditions. In Doubutsu no Mori+, Animal Crossing, Doubutsu no Mori e+, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the coelacanth only appears when it is raining. In Doubutsu no Mori, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the coelacanth can appear when it is either raining or snowing. The coelacanth is very rare and sells for 15,000 Bells; its rarity is noted by the player in the catch quotes for all games.

Catch details

In Animal Crossing

In Doubutsu no Mori, the coelacanth is the only saltwater fish. It is also available at different times (4 AM to 9 AM and 4 PM to 9 PM) than in Doubutsu no Mori+, Animal Crossing, and Doubutsu no Mori e+.

In Doubutsu no Mori only, the coelacanth can appear during rain or snow; in all the GameCube games, it can only appear during rain. Despite its availability being all year, due to the rain requirement, the coelacanth can never spawn on days where there is no chance of rain (or, in Doubutsu no Mori, no chance of rain or snow).

In Doubutsu no Mori e+, the coelacanth can only be encountered once per play session, even if the player fails to catch it. Saving and quitting and/or restarting the console will allow another encounter.

#32

"Would you look at that! I caught a living fossil! I didn't know they really existed!"

DnM / iQue

DnM+

AC

DnMe+

Time of year	All year
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Location	Sea (raining)
Shadow size	Very large
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Feng shui	Special
Furniture size

In Wild World

#56

"Woah Woah Woah! I caught a living fossil! Amazing! What were you doing down there?"

Description	Nocturnal. Their fins look like feet. Unlike other fish, they crawl to swim.
Time of year	All year
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	Sea (raining or snowing)
Shadow size	Very large
Fish size	150 cm
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#64

"A coelacanth? I caught a living fossil! Amazing! Who knew these things were still around?"

Description	Called "living fossils," these can grow as big as people.
Time of year	All year
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	Sea (raining or snowing)
Shadow size	Huge
Fish size	About 60 in.
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#72

"Holy fish sticks! I caught a coelacanth! Am I saying it right?"

Time of year	All year
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	Sea (raining or snowing)
Shadow size	Huge
Fish size	150 cm
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#57

Availability	Not currently available 2019-02-18 – 2019-02-25 (Fishing Tourney #11: Pink Crystal) 2019-08-20 – 2019-12-27 2020-09-09 – 2020-12-28 2021-08-29 – 2021-12-24 2022-09-19 – 2022-12-26 2023-09-15 – 2023-12-26
Location	Saltwater Shores
Shadow size	Huge
Size	125.3 cm – 174.7 cm
Rarity	★★★
Selling price	2,500 Bells
Version added	Unknown
Villager gift data	Tier: 3 (Uncommon+) Rewards:  1,500 Bells Fortune cookie (20%) +3 Friendship points

In New Horizons

Although the Critterpedia NookPhone app in Animal Crossing: New Horizons states that the coelacanth is available all year, it is unobtainable between the dates of Nov 15th-Feb 24th in the northern hemisphere and May 15th-Aug 24th in the southern hemisphere, due to rain being replaced with snow during those dates.

#80

"Blast from the past! I caught a coelacanth! Think positive! Be a coela-CAN!"

Time of year	North: All year South: All year
Time of day	All day
Location	Sea (raining)
Shadow size	Huge
Rarity	Rare
Spawn requirement	Catch 100 total fish
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  15,000 Bells  C.J.:  22,500 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

As with all fish in the Animal Crossing series, the coelacanth can be donated to the museum, followed by a small talk by Blathers about it.

In Animal Crossing

"Hoo, my goodness! Glorious! Seen in this light, of course, it's quite a grotesque beast. And yet, it does have a certain peculiar allure, wot? You may rest assured that we shall treat it with much affection and respect, wot! My word as a gentleowl."

In Wild World

"It was once thought that the coelacanth had gone extinct, eh wot? Indeed, right up until a scholar saw them lined up in a market. Hoo hoo! That would clearly suggest that they are edible, don't you agree? Though I must admit, they don't look like they would taste very good..."

In City Folk

"Many years ago, the theory was that the coelacanth had gone extinct...But as it turns out, it still exists and has been living deep in the ocean this whole time, wot? Imagine! This fish has known the world since the dinosaurs... Perhaps it's the true master of the sea!"

In New Leaf

Once the coelacanth is donated, there is information on the board in front of the tank that houses it.

"Coelacanths are ancient fish once believed to be extinct but recently discovered around South Africa. Called "living fossils," they have apparently changed very little over the past 400 million years. They can live for over 60 years and reach lengths of six feet but have rather small brains, even for fish. They have more fins and harder scales than the average fish, making them a rather resilient breed. Their flavour is very different from most fish, and they contain a fat that is indigestible by humans. It's for that second reason that eating them really isn't highly recommended."

In New Horizons

When donating to Blathers or selecting "Tell me about this!" in New Horizons, he will provide the following information about the fish:

"The coelacanth is a deep-sea fish that has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. They were long thought extinct, so when living specimens were discovered, it was quite a shock! Now I'll just have to figure out where in the museum to display it-fish or fossils!"

When donated, the coelacanth can be found in the north-eastern-most room of the fish exhibit, in the "sea" tank which is near the submersible and diving suit. It shares this tank with the barreleye, football fish, and oarfish.

Fishing Tourney

During a Fishing Tourney, when given a coelacanth, Chip will say the following dialogue.

In City Folk

"It may look nasty, but coelacanth with some tangy Gruyère and cream? Num! Nyuuuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!"

In New Leaf

"I hear coelacanths are too gross to even THINK about eating! I mean, these have got to be REALLY old. No, thank you. Even I'm not eating an ancient fish, no matter how big or rare it may actually be."

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

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  Animal Crossing

• 

  Animal Crossing: Wild World

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  Animal Crossing: City Folk

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  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

• 

  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Real-world information

A real-life coelacanth

The coelacanth is an ancient order of fish that was, for a long time, believed to be extinct, due to their disappearance from the fossil record 66 million years ago. The first ever live one was caught in 1938. It can grow up to two meters in length and lives for an average of forty-eight years. Coelacanths are found off the south coast of Africa, living in steep rocky shores, sheltering in caves during the day. It can travel around eight kilometers a night in search for food, passively swimming with the current, making it a "slow-moving" fish that only uses its fins to adjust its position. It preys on fish and squid, but some have been known to eat eels, skates, and even sharks. Its main predator is likely to be large sharks. More information on this topic is available at Wikipedia.

Trivia

• In Animal Crossing: City Folk, if the player gives a coelacanth to Wendell, he refuses to take it, saying his mother told him to not eat them. This could be due to their rarity, or due to the fact that they are inedible fish in the real world.

Names in other languages

	シーラカンス Shīrakansu	Coelacanth
	실러캔스 Silleokaenseu	Coelacanth
	矛尾鱼 máowěiyú	Coelacanth （lit. "spear-tailed fish")
	矛尾魚 Unknown
	Латимерия Latimeriya	From scientific name
	Coelacant	Coelacanth
	Quastenflosser	Coelacanth
	Celacanto	Coelacanth
	Cœlacanthe	Coelacanth
	Coelacante Celacanto (NL)	Coelacanth

Notes

Pocket Camp fish

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