The Rhinochimaeridae, commonly known as long-nosed chimaeras, are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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

. They are similar in form and habits to other

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 ...

s, but have an exceptionally long conical or paddle-shaped snout. The snout has numerous sensory nerve endings, and is used to find food such as small fish. The first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

includes a mildly venomous spine, used in defense. Long-nosed chimaeras are found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide, from in depth. In August 2020, a long-nosed chimaera was brought up from off the

Grand Banks of Newfoundland The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

. They range from in maximum total length, depending on species.

Species

The eight known species are in three genera: Family Rhinochimaeridae * Genus ''

Harriotta ''Harriotta'' is a genus of cartilaginous fish in the family Rhinochimaeridae. The name honours Thomas Harriot (c.1560‒1621), English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator, who published the first English work on American natu ...

'' Goode &

Bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

, 1895 (Late Cretaceous to present) ** ''

Harriotta haeckeli The smallspine spookfish (''Harriotta haeckeli'') is a species of fish in the family Rhinochimaeridae with a rather disjunct population. Its natural habitat is open seas. Taxonomy This species was first described by Christine Karrer in 1972. ...

'' Karrer, 1972 (smallspine spookfish) ** ''

Harriotta raleighana The narrownose chimaera (''Harriotta raleighana'') is a longnose chimaera of the family Rhinochimaeridae, the longnose chimaeras, consisting of eight species belonging three genera. This species is found in temperate seas worldwide, at depths bet ...

'' Goode & Bean, 1895 (narrownose chimaera) ** ''Harriotta avia'' Finucci, Didier, Ebert, Green, & Kemper, 2024 (Australasian narrow-nosed spookfish)

'' Goode & Bean, 1895 (narrownose chimaera) * Genus ''

Neoharriotta ''Neoharriotta'' is a genus of fish in the family Rhinochimaeridae The Rhinochimaeridae, commonly known as long-nosed chimaeras, are a family (biology), family of cartilaginous fish. They are similar in form and habits to other chimaeras, but ...

'' Bigelow &

Schroeder __NOTOC__ Schroeder is a North German (from Schröder) occupational name for a cloth cutter or tailor, from an agent derivative of Middle Low German , "to cut". The same term was occasionally used to denote a gristmiller as well as a shoemaker, wh ...

, 1950 ** '' Neoharriotta carri'' Bullis & J. S. Carpenter, 1966 (dwarf sicklefin chimaera) ** '' Neoharriotta pinnata'' Schnakenbeck, 1931 (sicklefin chimaera) ** '' Neoharriotta pumila'' Didier & Stehmann, 1996 (Arabian sicklefin chimaera) * Genus '' Rhinochimaera''

Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include: Sports * Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach * Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...

, 1901 ** ''

Rhinochimaera africana The paddlenose chimaera or paddlenose spookfish (''Rhinochimaera africana'') is a species of fish in the family Rhinochimaeridae found near China, Japan, Mozambique, South Africa, and Taiwan. Its natural habitat is open seas. It is threatened by ...

'' Compagno, Stehmann & Ebert, 1990 (paddlenose chimaera) ** '' Rhinochimaera atlantica'' Holt & Byrne, 1909 (broadnose chimaera) ** '' Rhinochimaera pacifica''

Mitsukuri Mitsukuri (written: 箕作 or 三栗) is a Japanese surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given n ...

, 1895 (Pacific spookfish) *Genus '' Amylodon'' Storms, 1895 (Late Cretaceous-Paleogene)

References

External links

* Cartilaginous fish families Extant Oligocene first appearances Taxa named by Samuel Garman {{holocephalan-stub