A dual respiratory and auditory function for the coelacanth lung

Luigi Manuelli; Gaël Clément; Marc Herbin; Bernd Fritzsch; Per E Ahlberg; Kathleen Dollman; Lionel Cavin

doi:10.1038/s42003-026-09708-6

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A dual respiratory and auditory function for the coelacanth lung

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A dual respiratory and auditory function for the coelacanth lung

Luigi Manuelli, Gaël Clément, Marc Herbin, Bernd Fritzsch, Per E Ahlberg, Kathleen Dollman and Lionel Cavin

Communications biology, Vol.9(1), 400

02/14/2026

DOI: 10.1038/s42003-026-09708-6

PMID: 41691076

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Abstract

Since the discovery of Latimeria chalumnae, coelacanths have provided a critical comparative framework for reconstructing ancestral sarcopterygian anatomy. However, the function of several anatomical features in both extant and fossil coelacanths remains unresolved. Among these, the presence of large ossified chambers in the body cavity of fossil coelacanths has remained enigmatic, with different studies proposing respiratory or auditory functions. Here, we examine lung and inner ear anatomy based on new observations from synchrotron phase-contrast microCT scans of two 240-million-year-old latimerioid coelacanths, alongside multiple developmental stages of the extant L. chalumnae. These data, combined with archival histological sections of L. chalumnae and 3D reconstructions of a Devonian coelacanth, suggest that extinct coelacanths possessed an ossified lung capable of transmitting sound pressure to auditory sensory epithelia in the inner ear via a perilymphatic system. We propose that the lung of extinct coelacanths supported both respiratory and auditory functions.

Details

Title: Subtitle: A dual respiratory and auditory function for the coelacanth lung
Creators: Luigi Manuelli - University of Geneva
Gaël Clément - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Marc Herbin - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Bernd Fritzsch - University of Nebraska Medical Center
Per E Ahlberg - Uppsala University
Kathleen Dollman - European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Lionel Cavin - University of Geneva
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Communications biology, Vol.9(1), 400
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-026-09708-6
PMID: 41691076
NLM abbreviation: Commun Biol
ISSN: 2399-3642
eISSN: 2399-3642
Publisher: Springer Nature
Grant note: 207903 / Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation)
Language: English
Date published: 02/14/2026
Academic Unit: Biology; Craniofacial Anomalies Research Center
Record Identifier: 9985141998902771

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