Texas' Youngest Coelacanth: Reidus hilli (image) Southern Methodist University Share Print E-Mail Caption A fossil discovered in Texas is a new species of coelacanth fish. Paleontologist John Graf, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, identified the skull as a 100 million-year-old coelacanth, making it the youngest discovered in Texas. The new species, Reidus hilli, brings to 81 the world's coelacanth species, including two alive today. Coelacanth fish have eluded extinction for 400 million years. Reidus hilli belongs to Dipluridae, a new family Graf determined is transitional between Mawsoniidae and Latimeriidae families. Follow SMU Research on Twitter, @smuresearch. View a video about the discovery, http://bit.ly/WvSBH2. Credit Image: Dale Winkler, SMU Usage Restrictions Please credit Share Print E-Mail Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.