Coelacanth

From Nookipedia, the Animal Crossing wiki

Artwork of coelacanth
Real-world info
Name: Latimeria chalumnae
(West Indian Ocean coelacanth)

Family: Latimeriidae (coelacanths)
Main appearances

Other appearances
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[edit]

In Animal Crossing[edit]

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
Coelacanth
"Would you look at that! I caught a living fossil! I didn't know they really existed!"
Coelacanth
Time of year[nb 1] All year
Time of day 4 PM – 9 AM[nb 2]
Location Sea (raining)[nb 3]
Shadow size Very large
Selling price  15,000 Bells
Feng shui Special
Furniture size 2.0 x 1.0


In Wild World[edit]

#56

Coelacanth
"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 2.0 x 1.0


In City Folk[edit]

#64

Coelacanth
"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 2.0 x 1.0


In New Leaf[edit]

#72

Coelacanth
"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 2.0 x 1.0


In Pocket Camp[edit]

#57

Coelacanth

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 PC Map Icon.png 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:


In New Horizons[edit]

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

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

Time of year North: All year[nb 4]
South: All year[nb 5]
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 2.0 x 1.0


Donating to the museum[edit]

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[edit]

"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[edit]

"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[edit]

"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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

In City Folk[edit]

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

In New Leaf[edit]

"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[edit]

Real-world information[edit]

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[edit]

  • 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[edit]

Japanese シーラカンス
Shīrakansu
Coelacanth

Korean 실러캔스
Silleokaenseu
Coelacanth

Simplified Chinese 矛尾鱼
máowěiyú
Coelacanth (lit. "spear-tailed fish")

Traditional Chinese 矛尾魚
Unknown

Russian Латимерия
Latimeriya
From scientific name

Dutch Coelacant Coelacanth

German Quastenflosser Coelacanth

European Spanish Celacanto Coelacanth

European French Cœlacanthe Coelacanth

Italian Coelacante
Celacanto (NL)
Coelacanth

Notes[edit]

  1. All bugs and fish in the first-generation games can appear at a lower spawn rate up to five days before the start of their first month of availability.
  2. 4 AM – 9 AM; 4 PM – 9 PM in Doubutsu no Mori.
  3. Snowing also works in Doubutsu no Mori, but snowing does not work in Doubutsu no Mori+, Animal Crossing, or Doubutsu no Mori e+
  4. Only rains during February 25 - November 15
  5. Only rains during January 5 - May 25, and August 25 - December 30