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Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758

Rabbit fish
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Chimaera monstrosa   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Chimaera monstrosa (Rabbit fish)
Chimaera monstrosa
Picture by Svensen, E.


Iceland country information

Common names: Geirnyt
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also Ref. 3304.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://brunnur.stjr.is/interpro/sjavarutv/english.nsf/pages/front
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Jonsson, G., 1992
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Holocephali (chimaeras) > Chimaeriformes (Chimaeras) > Chimaeridae (Shortnose chimaeras or ratfishes)
Etymology: Chimaera: Named for the mythological creature composed of parts of multiple animals, referring to their odd mix of characteristics. (See ETYFish);  monstrosa: Latin for strange or grotesque, referring to its strange appearance, as if composed of parts of multiple animals. (See ETYFish).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 40 - 1400 m (Ref. 104125), usually 300 - 500 m (Ref. 4443).   Deep-water; 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: Lm 45.9  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); max. published weight: 2.5 kg (Ref. 4645)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

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 Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | 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. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 02 September 2019

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO(Fisheries: production; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
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Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
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Distribution
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BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
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Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
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Aquaculture profiles
Strains
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Stamps, coins, misc.
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Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 3.7 - 14.1, mean 7.9 (based on 179 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00135 (0.00073 - 0.00248), b=3.05 (2.88 - 3.22), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming Fec <100;).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (68 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.