Appearance
The body of chimeras tapers towards the rear end and ends with a long (up to half the length of the body) whip-like tail. The length of adults from the front end to the tip of the tail varies from 0.6 to 1.5 meters. Large wing-like pectoral fins give chimeras their characteristic appearance. On the side of the head and body there is an open lateral line groove.
Reproduction and development
Chimeras are dioecious. Like other cartilaginous fish, they are characterized by internal fertilization. All species are oviparous. Because most species live at great depths, data on the reproductive biology of this group is very limited.
Nutrition
It is traditionally believed that chimeras feed on very solid food (for example, shellfish). First of all, these ideas are associated with the structure of the jaw apparatus of chimeras, which is capable of compressing objects with a force exceeding 100 newtons. However, few direct studies of nutrition suggest that the diet of chimeras is not limited to organisms with hard integuments (mollusks and echinoderms), but also includes polychaetes, crustaceans and even small benthic fish. In addition, cases of cannibalism have been described: some chimeras are capable of eating both adult representatives of their species and eggs.
Notes
List of sources
- Ebert D. A. (2003). The sharks, rays and chimaeras of California. University of California Press, 284 pp.
- Huber D. R., Dean M. N., Summers A. P. (2008). Hard prey, soft jaws and the ontogeny of feeding mechanics in the spotted ratfish Hydrolagus colliei. Interface, vol. 5, num. 25, p. 941-952
- Wilga C. D., Motta P. J., Sanford C. P. (2007). Evolution and ecology of feeding in elasmobranchs. Integrative and Comparative Biology, vol. 47, p. 55-69
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See what “Chimera (fish)” is in other dictionaries:
- (Greek). 1) in Greek mythology: a furious, fire-spewing monster that had the head and chest of a lion, the body of a goat, and the backside of dragons. 2) genus of fish Severn. seas, in shape making it seem like a transition to reptiles. 3) in the hostel: a pipe dream,... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
chimera- y, w. chimère f. , gr. chimaira is a monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a dragon. 1. A sculptural image of a fantastic monster personifying vices (in the decoration of medieval Gothic churches, etc.). BAS 1. I came from... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language
See hope... Synonym dictionary
European chimera Chimaera monstrosa Scientific classification ... Wikipedia
To fight like a fish on ice, to fish in troubled waters, to be dumb like a fish... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and similar expressions. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. fish fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, little fish, live bait,... ... Synonym dictionary
Female, Greek a fictional monster: the front is like a lion, the middle is like a goat, and the back is like a snake. | Strange fish of the northern seas, transition to reptiles. | Fantasy, dream, absurdity, empty fiction. Chimerical, ridiculous, absurd, empty, ridiculous, invented without meaning... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
Chimera- Himera, s (mythological) and himera, s (sculptural image of a monster; unrealizable dream, fantasy; fish; biol.) ... Russian spelling dictionary
Chimera- 1) in ancient Greek mythology, a monster with a fire-breathing lion’s mouth, a dragon’s tail and a goat’s body; 2) an impossible dream, a bizarre fantasy; 3) sea fish; 4) a plant organism consisting of two genetically heterogeneous... ... Theoretical aspects and foundations of the environmental problem: interpreter of words and ideomatic expressions
European chimera ... Wikipedia
I Fishes are aquatic vertebrates with variable body temperature; they breathe through gills, non-five-fingered limbs, usually in the form of fins (See Fins). 2 classes: Cyclostomes and R. proper. R. proper (Pisces) include 7 subclasses: ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
What different and unusual fish exist in nature, and what names have not been invented for them! For example, the chimera fish: the very name of this animal evokes not the most pleasant associations. But if you look at this inhabitant of the deep sea, opinions may differ. Some see a very cute and cute fish that looks like a soaring bird, while others see a monster. So who is she really, this mysterious sea resident, who is also called by another strange name - sea hare fish.
Very close relatives of the chimera are and: they are all cartilaginous fish and have a backbone made of cartilaginous tissue. Look at the photo of the chimera fish and try to find similarities with sharks!
All the most interesting things about chimeras
When the name chimera is mentioned, it does not mean that there is only one single species. The genus Chimaera (lat. Chimaera) unites 6 species, of which the most famous is the European chimera (lat. Chimaera monstrosa) from the eastern Atlantic. There is a Cuban chimera (Chimaera cubana), which was initially mistaken for a European one, but was later identified as an independent species. It lives off the coast of Cuba at a depth of 400-500 meters. Other species of the genus Chimera are known from the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean (Philippine Islands, Yellow Sea and Japanese Islands).
Place of chimeras in the fish system
The genus Chimera, of which the European chimera is a representative, is included in the family Chimaeridae, in which there is another genus with species that differ from the genus Chimera in the shape of the caudal fin.
All fish of the Chimaera family have a blunt snout. This is an important difference from other families of the Chimaeriformes order, including the family. Nosed chimeras with a very elongated snout and a pointed one at the end. And the third family is the proboscis-snouted chimeras (Callorhynchaceae). They are distinguished by the elongated and bent down and back of the front end of the snout.
Below, in the photo, chimera fish are depicted in drawings, and you can see the differences in the structure of the snout in representatives of each family, which were mentioned above.
Representatives of the order Chimera: 1 - fam. Chimaeras; 2 - sem. Proboscis snouts (Callorhynchaceae) and fam. Nosed chimeras. As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, the chimera fish is cartilaginous, and accordingly, belongs to the class “Cartilaginous fish,” which has two subclasses. Having much in common in internal and external structure with elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), chimeras differ from them in that their upper jaw is completely fused with the skull. Therefore, they are classified into the subclass Whole-headed or Joint-skulled.
Appearance of chimaeras
All chimaeras have a characteristic body shape: valval, slightly compressed laterally and very thin towards the tail. This is clearly visible in the photo of the sea hare fish (European chimera).
Other features of the appearance of chimera representatives:
- There are two fins on the back, the first is tall and short, having a powerful spike in front, which together with it, if necessary, fits into a special groove in the back. The second is long and can stretch all the way to the base of the caudal fin and does not fold.
- The caudal fin is often shaped like a long cord.
- The pectoral fins are very well developed and each of them is shaped like a fan.
- The pelvic fins are smaller than the pectoral fins and are located next to the anus, being pushed back.
- At the base, all paired fins are equipped with fleshy blades, thin and flexible.
- The lower mouth (lower) of chimeras has a characteristic three-lobed upper lip.
- The gill openings located on the sides of the head are covered by a fold of skin supported by finger-like cartilages.
- The naked body, devoid of placoid scales, is covered with a large amount of mucus.
Spine in the first dorsal fin of a European chimera. European chimeras - beauties or beasts?
The European chimera has the Latin name Chimaera monstrosa, which evokes associations with some kind of monster. This fish has many names, one of the names that the chimera fish bears is the hare. This may be due to the large, slightly elongated pectoral fins and huge eyes. It is also called sea rabbit fish, apparently for the same reasons.
And among the Norwegians, the chimera is a royal fish. It is called so because of the thin bony growth curved backwards, which is located between the eyes of males.
A stylized image of a male chimera with a bony growth between its eyes. The body length of the European chimera can be up to one or one and a half meters, and its tail is very long and thin, so another name has been assigned to it - the sea rat.
What color is the chimera?
Rudimentary spines are sometimes found on the bare skin of the European chimera. However, the skin looks smooth and soft and has a characteristic color:
- the back is in dark brown and golden shades in combination with brown and whitish, a dark brown stripe stretches along the upper part of the back;
- the ventral side of the body is light;
- a blackish-brown edging is noticeable on the back of the long dorsal fin, as well as on the caudal and anal fins.
The color image of the chimera is completed by the green color of the pupil against the background of the white iris of its huge eyes.
European chimera, photo by Roman Fedortsov, Murmansk, @rfedortsov_official_account Distribution, lifestyle and movement
The European chimera fish is not found in tropical waters. Its range is the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean:
- In northern waters - from the Strait of Gibraltar (coastal waters of Morocco) to the island of Iceland and the Scandinavian Peninsula, entering the Barents Sea.
- Southern waters - near the coast of southern Africa (this information requires confirmation).
The sea hare fish spends most of its life at the bottom, so ichthyologists classify it as a bathydimersal (bottom deep-sea) fish. After all, the depth at which it can be found is from 40 to 1400 meters. But most often this species lives at relatively shallow depths: two hundred to five hundred meters (in the northernmost part of its range) and three hundred and fifty to seven hundred meters (in the waters off the coast of Morocco). By winter it comes to coastal waters, where off the coast of Norway (where the depth is from 90 to 180 meters) a number of individuals can be caught by trawls.
These fish are quite gentle and do not resist at all when caught. Once removed from the water, they die very quickly. Placed in an aquarium, they do not survive well.
Way to travel
The chimera or sea rabbit fish is not a fast and high-speed swimmer, and it does not need it. See how gracefully it moves with the eel-like curve of its rear body and tail and the undulating wing-like movements of its large pectoral fins. The pelvic fins are also involved in ensuring the swimming of the fish; they are located horizontally and act as movement stabilizers.
Being at the bottom, chimeras can “stand” on the ground, resting on almost all of their fins: the pectoral and pelvic fins serve as four limbs, and the tail serves as additional support.
Nutrition issue
This part of the article is devoted to two questions:
- what does sea rabbit fish eat?
- Is it possible to eat chimera fish, that is, sea rabbit?
The diet of chimeras consists mainly of benthic invertebrates. Among them are mollusks, crustaceans (mainly crabs), echinoderms (sea urchins, brittle stars). Small fish were only occasionally found in their stomachs. When examining the contents of the chimeras' digestive tract, it was discovered that they do not swallow food whole, but bite off small pieces of prey or crush it with strong dental plates.
Do people eat chimeras?
So, is it possible to eat chimera fish? There is no definitive answer to this question. Fishing for chimaeras is carried out off the Pacific coast of the United States; they are caught in Chile and Argentina, as well as in the waters of New Zealand and China. The volume of production is especially large in New Zealand, where representatives of the family Callorhynchidae (proboscis-snouted chimeras) are caught.
Only fresh callorhynchus meat, which has excellent taste, is suitable for food. However, if it sits for even a little while, it begins to emit an unpleasant odor of ammonia. For housewives, the chimera cartilaginous fish, which has no scales or hard bones, is, of course, very convenient to prepare.
Fat is extracted from the liver of chimeras, which has long been known as an excellent wound healing agent.
The current trend towards increasing the volume of catch of the European chimera by deep-sea trawling for the purpose of producing medicines from the liver oil of this fish has led to the inclusion of this species in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. The chimera hare fish has a protected status as a species close to a vulnerable position.
.. or Adventures of a Housewife.
Friends, recently at the market I saw a beautiful fish: a silvery carcass with spots without a head and tail, only 1 fin across the entire back, a clean stomach, white meat and no scales! Not a fish, but a housewife's dream!
The only thing that confused me was the name - Chimera.
What is a chimera
In a word Chimera in ancient Greece they called fictional monsters that combined parts of various animals - a lion, a goat and a snake. The ugly appearance was combined with an evil disposition.
But the fish lying in front of me was so good that, despite vague forebodings, I bought it.
How I prepared the chimera
At home, I quickly cleaned the chimera, cut it into pieces, salted and peppered it, rolled it in flour and put it in a frying pan in hot oil.
The fish was fried, but there was no golden crust or a thick fishy smell. Another time you fry fish, the smell is enough to take away the saints. And then time goes by and nothing happens!
I tried a thin piece - the fish is no longer raw, but it does not come off the spine, it crumbles.
The pug Filimon, a big fish lover, was hanging around nearby. We ate a small piece of the chimera with him. My mouth felt bitter.
Our pug loves fish)))
What kind of fish is a chimera?
Feeling a strange taste, I thought: “Maybe I’m cooking chimera fish incorrectly?” I decided to look on the Internet.
The very first headline blew me away. I quote:
Is chimera fish edible?
And then it was written: “Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Chimera fish was considered inedible.” True, the Scandinavians used its liver to prepare wound-healing medicines (well, this still doesn’t say anything, their knights and fly agarics ate them), and the cunning Japanese learned to cook the chimera in some special way (that is, it became clear that according to traditional fish You can’t cook a chimera with recipes).
What does a chimera fish look like?
A photo of the fish was attached to the description. Indeed, a monster: a huge head, large, white eyes, green pupil. The pectoral fins are so large that they resemble wings, and half of the one and a half meter body is a thin tail. It's not for nothing that a chimera is on sale - without a head and tail...
That's what she is, a chimera. Photo: blogtiburones.com
No, the fish cannot be called ugly. She's just scary. Maybe that’s why there are legends about how, having gathered in a flock, predatory chimeras attack people, gnawing off pieces of them.
Arctic chimera, drawing: twinkleinglight.tumblr.com
Do chimeras really attack humans?
I think that these are fairy tales and not true, after all, the chimera is a deep-sea fish. But I don’t recommend dating her, even fried. The bitterness in my mouth remained for several hours. What if the piece of fish eaten was larger?
Imagine the epitaph... “Natasha Rybka, who died from the Chimera fish”)))))))
Afterword
I didn’t take a photo of either the fresh or the fried chimera, I was so stunned by the whole situation at the time. And a week later I went to the market again, to the fish rows. To take a picture of this strange, conditionally edible (or, still not?) creature for history.
The chimera was in place. But instead of its terrible name, the price tag read: sea hare. I thought it was disguised. Well, what can you expect from a chimera?
I asked the seller why you sell inedible fish. She assured that that batch of chimera (aka sea hare) was frozen incorrectly, which is why it tasted bitter. Well, you know, I didn’t bother checking to see if this was true, health is more valuable.
Also, for impressionable dog breeders, I hasten to assure that not a single pug was harmed during the preparation of the chimera.)))
Well, can this long tail of a chimera be called a fin?! This is just some kind of whip. Photo: zoosite.com.ua
Comments from the site administration
We also became interested in the question of what kind of fish this is, a chimera.
First, we looked at the search to see what they were looking for with the word Chimera. The results were impressive. This is not only Max Fry’s Nests of Chimeras... a chimera’s claw (we didn’t find claws on the fish), and a house with chimeras (what a horror), and a harpy, a gargoyle (also scary), at the behest of a pike (some optimists were looking for this), Woland , tantalum torment and even Homeric laughter.
We ended up on an Italian forum, where one of the participants told with surprise how he found this wonderful fish on the counter, asking his friends how it could even be that this horror ended up on the market.
We quote:
I agree that it is a shame to see a chimera (sea rabbit) among the game fish...Probably, she was caught by accident, it was a pity to abandon her, so they tried to sell the chimera. But I don't know anyone who has the courage to eat a chimera!
Thank you very much for your comments about the sea rabbit (chimera). Now it needs to be put in the refrigerator, tomorrow I will bring it to the marine biology department where we meet, and I think it will be preserved in formaldehyde.
Hi all.
one lady asked:
One thing is not clear to me...
You are indignant because you are disgusted to see a chimera on sale,because: 1) it is a rare species that cannot be caught or 2) it tastes lame?
This fish does not belong to the most popular marine inhabitants. It is quite rare and many, having heard the name, will not even understand what we are talking about. Let's try to eliminate this ignorance a little. Chimera fish belong to the benthic and deep-sea inhabitants of the deep sea. This applies to all its known varieties. It is distributed in all oceans and seas of the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans, mollusks and starfish. It has a length of up to one and a half meters.
general information
The chimera fish, although clumsy and slow, is well suited for searching for prey on the seabed, such as shellfish. Some species of this underwater inhabitant are armed with a poisonous dorsal spine, which is an unexpected and real surprise for sharks and other predators who dare to attack it.
Let's find out what a chimera is.
The fish, the photo of which is in front of you, looks very funny, but that is until you learn about its poisonous weapon. How does she look for a tasty treat in the darkness, silt and algae? The chimera is superbly helped in this by its nose, which digs the bottom of the sea and has special receptors for searching. It lives and hunts mostly in shallow seas, but there are representatives who prefer to search for prey in deep waters.
Features of the Chimera
“Silver trumpet” is the name of the chimera in New Zealand, served fried and with chips. And “White fillet” is an Australian delicacy. Let's say you come across a chimera fish. Is it possible to eat it? The answer is simple - of course, you can.
Types of chimeras and their habitats
There are three main types of our fish:
- The chimera with a plow-shaped head belongs to the family Callorhynchidae, lives in shallow coastal waters and, thanks to its sensitive, unusually shaped snout, successfully finds mollusks in the sandy bottom.
- Blunt-nosed, belongs to the family Chimaeridae, lives in deeper and darker waters, up to 500 meters deep. Thanks to its hypersensitive eyes, the ghost shark quickly and easily spots starfish and other local inhabitants of sea waters suitable for eating.
- The long-nosed chimera fish from the family Rhinochimaeridae lives at even greater depths and has a sensitive elongated snout, which is designed to search for mollusks where there is no light at all.
The chimera fish itself, as the photo confirms, is very beautiful, with silvery spotted sides.
Chimera fish: how to cook in the oven
People from the camp that decided that it is quite edible claim that sea rabbit dishes are very tasty. In addition, you can often see this delicacy on store shelves. There is one plus here - the creepy-looking chimera is sold already cleaned. So, at the end of our introductory article, we will tell you the recipe for preparing our fish with vegetables in the oven.
For this we will need the following ingredients: one sea rabbit carcass, one carrot, one onion, fish seasonings, salt, half a lemon and a few tablespoons of vegetable oil.
The process of preparing a chimera in the oven
Let's start cooking with vegetables, since they need to be stewed first. Peel the carrots and grate them on a coarse grater. Place the frying pan on the fire, pour a little vegetable oil and lay out the vegetable. Next, we peel it to taste much more tender than usual, cut it into half rings and also put it in the frying pan. Mix the vegetables, add salt, add a little water (a few tablespoons) and cover with a lid. Stirring from time to time, simmer until fully cooked. It's time to get your hands on the fish. We cut off the short fin on the carcass with scissors. After that, cut it into small pieces. Pour seasonings and salt into a small saucer, mix them and rub each piece of fish with this mixture.
It will marinate while our vegetables are stewing. As soon as the onions and carrots are ready, take a baking dish and transfer the vegetables into it. There is no need to pre-grease the baking sheet with oil. Next, place pieces of chimera fish on top of the vegetables and squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto it. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, place the mold in it, and after 20 minutes the delicious dish is ready. It should be served hot with a side dish of rice or mashed potatoes. Bon appetit!
Chimera fish
The deep waters of the mysterious oceans are inhabited by mysterious creatures. 400 million years ago, an unusual underwater inhabitant appeared - the chimera fish.
This creature is sometimes called a ghost shark. And this fish received the name chimera for its appearance. The fact is that in Greek mythology there was a legend about a monstrous woman, whose entire body was formed from parts of various animals. Seeing a fish with a strange appearance, the ancient Greeks decided that its body was not at all like an ordinary fish - but as if it was also made up of animal parts. That is why the chimera fish got its name.
Chimera deep sea fish
This fish belongs to the cartilaginous fish, represents the order Chimera, family Chimaera.
Among the class of cartilaginous fish, chimeras were the very first to appear on our planet. They are considered distant relatives of sharks. Today, scientists have counted about 50 species of these unusual fish on our planet.
Appearance of chimera fish
The body length of an adult reaches 1.5 meters. The skin of these fish is smooth, with multi-colored tints. In males, between the eyes on the head there is a bone growth (spike) that has a curved shape.
The tail of these fish is very long, reaching a size equal to half the length of the entire body. A distinctive feature of the appearance of these representatives of the chimaera family can be called large wing-shaped lateral fins. By straightening them, the chimera becomes somewhat similar to a bird.
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