Chimaera (genus)

This article is about the genus. For other uses, see Chimera.

Chimaera Temporal range: Eocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Chimaera cubana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Holocephali
Order:	Chimaeriformes
Family:	Chimaeridae
Genus:	Chimaera Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758
Species
16, see text

Chimaera is the type genus of the cartilaginous fish family Chimaeridae.

Species

There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus:

• Chimaera argiloba Last, W. T. White & Pogonoski, 2008 (Whitefin chimaera)
• Chimaera bahamaensis Kemper, Ebert, Didier & Compagno, 2010 (Bahamas ghost shark)
• Chimaera buccaginella Clerkin, Elbert, & Kemper, 2017 (Dark-mouth chimaera)
• Chimaera carophila Kemper, Ebert, Naylor & Didier, 2014 (Brown chimaera) ^[1]
• Chimaera compacta Iglésias, Kemper & Naylor, 2022 ^[2] (Stubby chimaera)
• Chimaera cubana Howell-Rivero, 1936 (Cuban chimaera)
• Chimaera didierae Clerkin, Elbert, & Kemper, 2017 (Falkor chimaera)
• Chimaera fulva Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (Southern chimaera)
• Chimaera jordani S. Tanaka (I), 1905 (Jordan's chimaera)
• Chimaera lignaria Didier, 2002 (Carpenter's chimaera)
• Chimaera macrospina Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (Longspine chimaera)
• Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758 (Rabbit fish)
• Chimaera notafricana Kemper, Ebert, Compagno & Didier, 2010 (Cape chimaera)
• Chimaera obscura Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (Shortspine chimaera)
• Chimaera ogilbyi Waite, 1898 (Ogilby's ghostshark)
• Chimaera opalescens Luchetti, Iglésias & Sellos, 2011 (Opal chimaera) ^[3]
• Chimaera orientalis Angulo, M. I. Bussing, W. A. Bussing & Murase, 2014 (Eastern Pacific black chimaera) ^[4]
• Chimaera owstoni S. Tanaka (I), 1905 (Owston's chimaera)
• Chimaera panthera Didier, 1998 (Leopard chimaera)
• Chimaera phantasma D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1900 (Silver chimaera)
• Chimaera stellata Teramura, Senou & Hirase, 2024 (Stellated chimaera)
• Chimaera supapae Ebert, Krajangdara, Fahmi, & Kemper, 2024 (Andaman shortnose chimaera) ^[5]
• Chimaera willwatchi Clerkin, Elbert, & Kemper, 2017 (Seafarer ghostshark)

Fossil species

Several fossil species are attributed to Chimaera, but only two are confidently assignable to it. These two are C. seymourensis from the Late-Eocene La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, ^{[6] [7]} and C. pliocenica from the Pliocene of Tuscany, Italy. ^[7] Chimaera zangerli from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Seymour Island ^[8] was considered by later authors to belong to Elasmodectes instead. C.eophantasma from the Paleocene of England has since been considered a synonym of Elasmodus hunteri. C. gosseleti and C. rupeliensis from the Oligocene of Belgium are synonymous with each other, with C.gosseleti being the senior synonym, and have subsequently been placed in the genus Harriotta. Chimaera javana from the Miocene of Java is lost, and therefore considered a nomen dubium . "Chimaera" anomala from the Miocene of Australia is more similar to Ischyodus , and does not belong to Chimeridae. ^[7]

References

1. Kemper, J.M.; Ebert, D.A.; Naylor, G.J.P. & Didier, D.A. (2014). "Chimaera carophila (Chondrichthyes: Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae), a new species of chimaera from New Zealand". Bulletin of Marine Science. 91 (1): 63–81. doi:10.5343/bms.2014.1042.
2. Iglésias, S. P.; Kemper, J. M. & Naylor, G. J. P. (2022). "Chimaera compacta, a new species from southern Indian Ocean, and an estimate of phylogenetic relationships within the genus Chimaera (Chondrichthyes: Chimaeridae)". Ichthyological Research. 69 (1): 31–45. Bibcode:2022IchtR..69...31I. doi:10.1007/s10228-021-00810-9. S2CID   233622655.
3. Luchetti, E.A.; Iglésias, S.P. & Sellos, D.Y. (2011). "Chimaera opalescens n. sp., a new chimaeroid (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali) from the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean". Journal of Fish Biology. 79 (2): 399–417. Bibcode:2011JFBio..79..399L. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03027.x. PMID   21781099.
4. Angulo, A.; López, M.I.; Bussing, W.A. & Murase, A. (2014). "Records of chimaeroid fishes (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes) from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with the description of a new species of Chimaera (Chimaeridae) from the eastern Pacific Ocean". Zootaxa. 3861 (6): 554–574. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3861.6.3. PMID   25283429.
5. Ebert, D.A.; Krajangdara, T.; Fahmi; Kemper, J.M. (2024). "Chimaera supapae (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae), a new species of chimaera from the Andaman Sea of Thailand" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 72: 84–90. doi:10.26107/RBZ-2024-0006.
6. Ward, David J.; Grande, Lance (1991). "Chimaeroid fish remains from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula". Antarctic Science. 3 (3): 323–330. Bibcode:1991AntSc...3..323W. doi:10.1017/S095410209100038X. S2CID   131686318.
7. Popov, Evgeny V.; Johns, Marjorie J.; Suntok, Stephen (2020-01-02). "A New Genus of Chimaerid Fish (Holocephali, Chimaeridae) from the Upper Oligocene Sooke Formation of British Columbia, Canada". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (1): e1772275. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E2275P. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1772275. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   221751740.
8. Stahl, Barbara J.; Chatterjee, Sankar (1999). "A Late Cretaceous Chimaerid (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from Seymour Island, Antarctica". Palaeontology. 42 (6): 979–989. Bibcode:1999Palgy..42..979S. doi: 10.1111/1475-4983.00105 .