The southern chimaera (''Chimaera fulva'') is a

chimaera Chimaeras are Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous fish in the order (biology), order Chimaeriformes (), known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish (not to be confused with rattails), spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last two names are also applied to B ...

species in the family

Chimaeridae The Chimaeridae, or short-nosed chimaeras, are a family (biology), family of cartilaginous fish. They resemble other Chimaeriformes, chimaeras in general form and habits, but have short, rounded snouts, without the modifications found in relate ...

. It lives in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, usually in marine waters 780 to 1095 meters deep. It can grow to a maximum length of at least 100 centimeters, and is sometimes confused with '' Chimaera obscura'', a similar species in its genus.

Description

Male specimens of the southern chimaera can grow up to a maximum total length of 100 centimeters, and females can grow to 118.7 centimeters. Its coloring ranges from a silver pink to a pale brown. Its dorsal spine is short, and males have large

claspers In biology, a clasper is a male anatomical structure found in some groups of animals, used in mating. Male cartilaginous fish have claspers formed from the posterior portion of their pelvic fin which serve to channel semen into the female's c ...

, which contain bristles at the end. The species is sometimes confused with '' Chimaera obscura'', a related species commonly known as the shortspine chimaera. However, the species are different morphological; notably, ''C. fulva'' is lighter in color than ''C. obscura''.

Behavior and habitat

The southern chimaera is a bathydemersal marine species, typically living in waters 780 to 1095 meters deep, though it has been found in shallower waters as well. The species is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Distribution and conservation

The southern chimaera is distributed in areas off the coast of

, from the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in the east to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It lives in the southwest Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean. It is a relatively uncommon species, but its population is currently stable. The exact population of the species is unknown. The species is a common bycatch by fisheries in southern Australia. It is estimated that the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery catches roughly 12 tonnes of the species a year as a bycatch. Despite these issues, there are currently no conservation actions taking place for the species. IUCN lists it as being of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2435860 southern chimaera Marine fish of Southern Australia southern chimaera