United Kingdom country information

Common names: Chimaera, Cwningen fôr, Ghost shark
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: scarce (very unlikely) | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Restricted to the northern North Sea and Celtic Sea in waters of 156-592 m depth (Ref. 82399). Rare in inshore waters, 10 specimens reported within the 183 m line in Irish waters (Ref. 54735).
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Wheeler, A., 1992
National Database:

Classification / Names

Holocephali (chimaeras) > Chimaeriformes (Chimaeras) > Chimaeridae (Shortnose chimaeras or ratfishes)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Химера европейская, خُرافة شائعة, 银鲛, ... more

Main reference

Krefft, G. 1990. (Ref. 4443)
References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); max. published weight: 2.5 kg (Ref. 4645)

Length at first maturity
L_m 45.9 range ? - ? cm

Environment

Marine; bathydemersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 40 - 1400 m (Ref. 104125), usually 300 - 500 m (Ref. 4443)

Climate / Range

Deep-water, preferred 9°C (Ref. 107945); 75°N - 27°N, 32°W - 35°E

Distribution

Eastern Atlantic: northern Norway and Iceland, Skagerrak and Kattegat south to Morocco including western Mediterranean (some isolated records from eastern part), Azores and Madeira Islands. Records from South Africa are questionable. Reported from Oshima, Japan (FMNH 89161) (Ref. 27954).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Bathydemersal to benthopelagic generally between 300 and 500 m depth. Found in the upper continental slope. Usually found in deeper waters in southern latitudes, while making a summer inshore migration up to 40-100 m in the northern areas. Sluggish, usually occurring in small groups. Feeds mainly on bottom-living invertebrates. The single dorsal spine is sharp and pointed, and although only mildly venomous can inflict a painful wound. Oviparous. Males have a clasper on the forehead that is probably used to hold on to the female during copulation. Egg capsules are about 17 cm long; young look alike adults and hatch when 10 cm long. Common by-catch when trawling for shrimps in the North Sea or Skaggerak.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Near Threatened (NT)

Threat to humans

Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
3.5 ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming Fec <100;)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
High to very high vulnerability (74 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low

Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758