Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Holocephali (chimaeras) > Chimaeriformes (Chimaeras) > Chimaeridae (Shortnose chimaeras or ratfishes)
Etymology: Chimaera: Latin, chimaera = marine monster, 1634 (Ref. 45335). More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 40 - 1400 m (Ref. 104125), usually 300 - 500 m (Ref. 4443). Deep-water, preferred 9°C (Ref. 107945); 75°N - 27°N, 32°W - 35°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

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).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 45.9 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); max. published weight: 2.5 kg (Ref. 4645)

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.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous; egg-capsules slender, club-shaped with narrow lateral membranes and a horny filament at the long pointed end, 17 cm long and 3 cm wide; deposited mainly in spring and summer. The embryos developing in about 9-12 months and hatch at 10 cm length.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Krefft, G., 1990. Chimaeridae. p. 111-113. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4443)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Near Threatened (NT)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial

FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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

Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758