The bony fish evolved from the armoured fish about 410 million years ago (BBC, 1998). The Coelacanth is a bony fish (Class Osteichthyes) and it is a lobe finned fish (Subclass Sarcopterygii) (BBC, 1998). It is thought to be a cousin of the Eusthenopteron, the fish credited with growing legs and crawling onto land, giving rise to tetrapods 360 million years ago (Gorman, 1998). Two groups of fish evolved from the Acanthodians, the Osteichthyes and the Chondrichthyes (cartilagenous fish) (BBC, 1998). So the Acanthodians are direct ancestors of the Coelacanth.