The Chimaeridae, or short-nosed chimaeras, are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

cartilaginous fish Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes that have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or ''bony fishes'', which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. ...

. They resemble other chimaeras in general form and habits, but have short, rounded snouts, without the modifications found in related families. Many species have long, tapering tails, giving them an alternative name of ratfish. Shortnose chimaeras have a venomous spine on their backs, which is sufficiently dangerous to injure humans. They are found in temperate and tropical marine waters worldwide. Most species are restricted to depths below , but a few, notably the

spotted ratfish The spotted ratfish (''Hydrolagus colliei'') is a chimaera found in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. Often seen by divers at night in the Pacific Northwest, this cartilaginous fish gets its characteristic name from a pointed rat-like tail. The r ...

and

rabbit fish ''Chimaera monstrosa'', also known as the rabbit fish or rat fish, is a northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean species of cartilaginous fish in the family Chimaeridae. The rabbit fish is known for its characteristically large head and small, taper ...

, can locally be found at relatively shallow depths. They range from in maximum total length, depending on species.

Species

The species are grouped into two genera and include: Family Chimaeridae * Genus ''

Chimaera Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes , known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively. A ...

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoological ...

** '' Chimaera argiloba''

Last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...

, W. T. White & Pogonoski, 2008 (whitefin chimaera) ** '' Chimaera bahamaensis''

Kemper Kemper may refer to: Buildings * Kemper Arena, in Kansas City, Missouri * Kemper Building (Chicago), a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois * Kemper Hall, a 1911 mansion in Kenosha, Wisconsin * Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, in Kansas City, Misso ...

Ebert Ebert is a surname of German origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Ebert (born 1978), lead singer for the band Ima Robot * Anton Ebert (1845–1896), Austrian painter * Beanie Ebert (1902–1980), American football player * Bla ...

, Didier & Compagno, 2010 (Bahamas ghostshark) ** ''

Chimaera carophila Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes , known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively. At ...

, Naylor & Didier (brown chimaera) ** '' Chimaera cubana'' Howell-Rivero, 1936 (Cuban chimaera) ** '' Chimaera fulva'' Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (southern chimaera) ** ''

Chimaera jordani Jordan's chimaera (''Chimaera jordani'') is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae found near Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacifi ...

'' S. Tanaka (I), 1905 (Jordan's chimaera) ** ''

Chimaera lignaria The carpenter's chimaera (''Chimaera lignaria''), also known as the giant chimaera or the giant purple chimaera, is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae. Description The carpenter's chimaera grows to in length; the largest specimen re ...

'' Didier, 2002 (Carpenter's chimaera) ** ''

Chimaera macrospina The longspine chimaera (''Chimaera macrospina'') is a chimaera species in the family Chimaeridae. It is found off of the eastern and western coasts of Australia, and lives in tropical and temperate waters 435–1,300 meters deep. Males and femal ...

'' Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (longspine chimaera) ** ''

Chimaera monstrosa ''Chimaera monstrosa'', also known as the rabbit fish or rat fish, is a northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean species of cartilaginous fish in the family Chimaeridae. The rabbit fish is known for its characteristically large head and small, taper ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758] (Rabbitfish) ** ''

Chimaera notafricana The cape chimaera (''Chimaera notafricana'') is a chimaera species in the family Chimaeridae, which lives in South Africa and Namibia. Taxonomy The cape chimaera is one of 16 species in the genus Chimaera. The species was described in 2010 ...

, Compagno & Didier, 2010 (Cape chimaera) ** ''

Chimaera obscura The shortspine chimaera (''Chimaera obscura''), also commonly known as the short spine chimaera, is a chimaera species in the family Chimaeridae, which lives off of the east coast of Australia. Description The shortspine chimaera is similar to ...

'' Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (shortspine chimaera) ** '' Chimaera owstoni'' S. Tanaka (I), 1905 (Owston's chimaera) ** '' Chimaera panthera'' Didier, 1998 (leopard chimaera) ** ''

Chimaera phantasma The silver chimaera (''Chimaera phantasma'') is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae found near Australia, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is open seas. ...

'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1900 (silver chimaera) ** ''Chimaera'' cf. sp. E Last & Stevens, 1994; White et al. 2006 (Lombok chimaera) * Genus ''

Hydrolagus ''Hydrolagus'' is a genus of fish in the family Chimaeridae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.Weigmann, S. (2016)Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeo ...

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...

, 1863 ** '' Hydrolagus affinis'' ( Brito Capello, 1868) (small-eyed rabbitfish) ** ''

Hydrolagus africanus The African chimaera (''Hydrolagus africanus'') is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae found near Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, p ...

'' ( Gilchrist, 1922) (African chimaera) ** ''

Hydrolagus alberti The gulf chimaera (''Hydrolagus alberti'') is a species of cartilaginous fish in the family Chimaeridae found near Mexico, the United States, and possibly Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Surinam ...

'' Bigelow & Schroeder, 1951 (Gulf chimaera) ** '' Hydrolagus alphus'' Quaranta, Didier, Long & Ebert, 2006 ** '' Hydrolagus barbouri'' ( Garman, 1908) (ninespot chimaera) ** ''

Hydrolagus bemisi The pale ghost shark (''Hydrolagus bemisi'') is a shortnose chimaera of the family Chimaeridae. It is endemic to New Zealand waters. Taxonomy This species was first described by Dominique A. Didier in 2002. Although it had been recognised, the ...

'' Didier, 2002 (pale ghost shark) ** ''

Hydrolagus colliei The spotted ratfish (''Hydrolagus colliei'') is a chimaera found in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. Often seen by divers at night in the Pacific Northwest, this cartilaginous fish gets its characteristic name from a pointed rat-like tail. The r ...

'' (

Lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada * Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname ...

& E. T. Bennett, 1839) (spotted ratfish) ** '' Hydrolagus eidolon'' (D. S. Jordan & C. L. Hubbs, 1925) ** '' Hydrolagus erithacus'' Walovich, Ebert &

, 2017 (Robin's ghostshark)Walovich, K.A., Ebert, D.A. & Kemper, J.M. (2017): ''Hydrolagus erithacus'' sp. nov. (Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae), a new species of chimaerid from the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian oceans. ''Zootaxa, 4226 (4): 509–520.'' ** '' Hydrolagus homonycteris'' Didier, 2008 (black ghostshark) ** '' Hydrolagus lemures'' ( Whitley, 1939) (bight ghostshark) ** '' Hydrolagus lusitanicus'' T. Moura, I. M. R. Figueiredo, Bordalo-Machado, C. Almeida &

Gordo Gordo (Spanish and Portuguese for "fat") may refer to: People * Afonso II of Portugal (1185–1223), King of Portugal nicknamed "''o Gordo'' ("the Fat") * Gordon Cooper (1927–2004), one of the seven original American astronauts, nicknamed "Gord ...

, 2005 (Portuguese rabbitfish) ** '' Hydrolagus macrophthalmus'' F. de Buen, 1959 (big-eyed chimaera) ** '' Hydrolagus marmoratus'' Didier, 2008 (marbled ghostshark) ** '' Hydrolagus matallanasi'' Soto & Vooren, 2004 (striped rabbitfish) ** '' Hydrolagus mccoskeri'' L. A. K. Barnett, Didier, Long & Ebert, 2006 (Galápagos ghostshark) ** ''

Hydrolagus melanophasma The Eastern Pacific black ghostshark (''Hydrolagus melanophasma'', literally a combination of "water rabbit" and "black ghost") is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae.Carlos Bustamante, Hernán Flores, Yhon Concha-Pérez, Carolina Vargas ...

'' K. C. James, Ebert, Long & Didier, 2009 (Eastern Pacific black ghostshark) ** '' Hydrolagus mirabilis'' ( Collett, 1904) (large-eyed rabbitfish) ** '' Hydrolagus mitsukurii'' (D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1904) (spookfish) ** '' Hydrolagus novaezealandiae'' ( Fowler, 1911) (dark ghostshark) ** '' Hydrolagus ogilbyi'' ( Waite, 1898) (Ogilby's ghostshark) ** '' Hydrolagus pallidus'' Hardy & Stehmann, 1990 (pale chimaera) ** ''

Hydrolagus purpurescens The purple chimaera or purple ghostshark (''Hydrolagus purpurescens'') is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae found off Japan and Hawaii. Its natural habitat is open sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is ...

'' ( C. H. Gilbert, 1905) (purple chimaera) ** '' Hydrolagus trolli'' Didier & Séret, 2002 (pointy-nosed blue chimaera) ** ''

Hydrolagus waitei ''Hydrolagus'' is a genus of fish in the family Chimaeridae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.Weigmann, S. (2016)Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeog ...

'' Fowler, 1907 ** ''Hydrolagus'' sp. D/G (giant black chimaera) ** ''Hydrolagus'' sp. F (Peruvian rabbitfish)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1543050 Cartilaginous fish families Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte

Species

See also

References