Callorhinchus milii Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1823
Ghost shark
Elephant fish,  Elephant shark,  Ghost shark,  Plownose chimaera,  Reperepe,  Silver fish,  White fillets,  Whitefish,  Elephant fish
Callorhinchus milii
photo by Aitken, K.

Family:  Callorhinchidae (Plownose chimaeras)
Max. size:  125 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 227 m, oceanodromous
Distribution:  Southwest Pacific: southern Australia and New Zealand.
Diagnosis:   
Biology:  Occurs on continental shelves to depths of at least 200 m (Ref. 6871). Migrates into large estuaries and inshore bays in the spring to breed (Ref. 6871). Feeds mainly on shellfish (Ref. 26346). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Eggs are encased in horny shells (Ref. 205). Flesh is of good eating quality. Males have a small, club-like protuberance on the head and also long copulation organs near the pelvic fins (Ref. 557).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 17 April 2015 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:  Occurs in southern Australia, from Esperance, Western Australia to Sydney, New South Wales; including Tasmania. Substantial catches taken south of Bass Strait where it is sold as whitefish fillets; small quantities taken off Victoria and Tasmania (Ref. 6871). Also Ref. 26346, 27363, 89422.


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.