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.
The pale ghost shark is a shortnose chimaera of the family Chimaeridae. It is endemic to New Zealand waters.
The narrownose chimaera 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 between 200 and 3,100 m. Its length is between 1.0 and 1.5 m, including a long, tapering snout and a long, filamentous tail.
The carpenter's chimaera, also known as the giant chimaera or the giant purple chimaera, is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae.
The smallspine spookfish is a species of fish in the family Rhinochimaeridae with a rather disjunct population. Its natural habitat is open seas.
The African chimaera is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae found near Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitat is deep-waters up to the depth of 750 m Eight species of chimaera are found in the southern African region, representing the three families and all six genera.
Hydrolagus is a genus of fish in the family Chimaeridae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Rhinochimaera is a genus of cartilaginous fish in the family Rhinochimaeridae, with these species:
The Chimaeridae, or short-nosed chimaeras, are a family of cartilaginous fish.
The Rhinochimaeridae, commonly known as long-nosed chimaeras, are a family of cartilaginous fish. They are similar in form and habits to other chimaeras, 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 includes a mildly venomous spine, used in defense.
Chimaera is the type genus of the cartilaginous fish family Chimaeridae.
The large-eyed rabbitfish is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae. It is found in several areas of the Atlantic Ocean and within the Mediterranean Sea.
Chimaera bahamaensis, commonly known as the Bahamas ghost shark, is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae. It is found in North Atlantic Ocean around the Bahamas, specifically it has been found east of Andros Island. Chimaera bahamaensis is known to inhabit marine waters from a depth range of 1,483 metres (4,865 ft) – 1,506 metres (4,941 ft). It is one of the most recently described members of the genus Chimaera and to date only a single specimen has been found.
Dwykaselachus is an extinct genus of symmoriiform, a cartilaginous fish that lived in what is now South Africa during the Permian period around 280 million years ago. It was first discovered in the 1980s, in a nodule of sediments from the Karoo Supergroup. Dwykaselachus was named based on Dwyka Group, the group of sedimentary geological formation in the southeastern part of Africa. It represents the place where the type species Dwykaselachus oosthuizeni was found.
Rhinochimaera pacifica, commonly known as the Pacific spookfish, knifenose chimaera, narrownose chimaera, Pacific long-nosed chimaera, or Pinocchiofish, is a species of chimaera in the family Rhinochimaeridae. It lives in various parts of the Pacific Ocean and can be characterized by its long snout.
The cape chimaera is a chimaera species in the family Chimaeridae, which lives in South Africa and Namibia.
The whitespot ghost shark is a chimaera species in the family Chimaeridae, which lives in parts of the Galápagos Islands in the southeast Pacific Ocean. It lives in waters with steep slopes and boulders and grows to a total length of around 40–50 cm (16–20 in).
Amylodon is an extinct genus of chimaera. It consists of four described species. A. karamysh is known from the latest early Campanian of Russia, the name being derived from the Karamysh River which runs near the type locality. In the Eocene, two species are known. A. venablesae and A. eocenica are both known from the Ypresian-aged London Clay of England. A mandibular plate originally ascribed to the latter was found in the Bartonian of the Barton Beds of England, though later found not to fit with any described species. A. delheidi is known from the Rupelian-aged Boom Clay of Belgium. All species are known mainly from isolated mandibles. They show a slow progressing towards increased shearing ability. Amylodon was considered to be a member of Chimaeridae in Nessov and Averianov, 1996 but other studies have either been assigned to the "Edaphodontidae", or to the Rhinochimaeridae.
Chimaera carophila, the brown chimaera is in the subclass of holocephali. It is a marine cartilaginous fish that resides in the Southwest Pacific Ocean surrounding New Zealand. C. carophila was first observed in 2014. The Brown chimaera has notable features such as large eyes, a relatively short first dorsal fin and spine, a soft rounded snout, and a pale brown body color.
