Coelacanth, the "Hollow Spine," is a rare fish that has roamed the  oceans for hundreds of millions of  years since the Devonian Period.  With a length of two meters, the coelacanth compares in size to other  fishes that lived during its long existence. In the over four hundred million years since the Devonian  Period, the coelacanth has changed  its form little. For a hundred years, science believed it to be extinct before its rediscovery.   Upon rediscovery in 1938, the  coelacanth cemented itself as a  living fossil. Living along African  coasts and in Indonesian waters,  its food and temperature needs  restrict it to these areas. It  feeds in underwater caves and  crevices ay night, but During the  day, it rests and saves vital energy  for feeding time. The coelacanth's  existence is threatened by deep-sea trawling, despite the lack of of commercial value for the fish (apart from museums and private  collectors). Only two species of coelacanth remain alive today, both threatened, making them some of the most endangered animals on Earth. Many governments around the world  allocate money to the conservation  of the coelacanth population, of  which no more than a few hundred is  estimated; without this important  effort, the animal that braved  more than four hundred million years may join the past with extinction.