Chimaera (genus) explained

Chimaera is the type genus of the cartilaginous fish family Chimaeridae.

Species

There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus:

• Chimaera argiloba Last, W. T. White & Pogonoski, 2008 (Whitefin chimaera)
• Chimaera bahamaensis Kemper, Ebert, Didier & Compagno, 2010 (Bahamas ghost shark)
• Chimaera buccaginella Clerkin, Elbert, & Kemper, 2017 (Dark-mouth chimaera)
• Chimaera carophila Kemper, Ebert, Naylor & Didier, 2014 (Brown chimaera)^[1]
• Chimaera compacta Iglésias, Kemper & Naylor, 2022^[2] (Stubby chimaera)
• Chimaera cubana Howell-Rivero, 1936 (Cuban chimaera)
• Chimaera didierae Clerkin, Elbert, & Kemper, 2017 (Falkor chimaera)
• Chimaera fulva Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (Southern chimaera)
• Chimaera jordani S. Tanaka (I), 1905 (Jordan's chimaera)
• Chimaera lignaria Didier, 2002 (Carpenter's chimaera)
• Chimaera macrospina Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (Longspine chimaera)
• Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758 (Rabbit fish)
• Chimaera notafricana Kemper, Ebert, Compagno & Didier, 2010 (Cape chimaera)
• Chimaera obscura Didier, Last & W. T. White, 2008 (Shortspine chimaera)
• Chimaera ogilbyi Waite, 1898 (Ogilby's ghostshark)
• Chimaera opalescens Luchetti, Iglésias & Sellos, 2011 (Opal chimaera)^[3]
• Chimaera orientalis Angulo, M. I. Bussing, W. A. Bussing & Murase, 2014 (Eastern Pacific black chimaera)^[4]
• Chimaera owstoni S. Tanaka (I), 1905 (Owston's chimaera)
• Chimaera panthera Didier, 1998 (Leopard chimaera)
• Chimaera phantasma D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1900 (Silver chimaera)
• Chimaera supapae Ebert, Krajangdara, Fahmi, & Kemper, 2024 (Andaman shortnose chimaera)^[5]
• Chimaera willwatchi Clerkin, Elbert, & Kemper, 2017 (Seafarer ghostshark)

Fossil species

Several fossil species are attributed to Chimaera, but only two are confidently assignable to it. These two are C. seymourensis from the Late-Eocene La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula,^[6] and C. pliocenica from the Pliocene of Tuscany, Italy.^[7] Chimaera zangerli from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Seymour Island^[8] was considered by later authors to belong to Elasmodectes instead. C. eophantasma from the Paleocene of England has since been considered a synonym of Elasmodus hunteri. C. gosseleti and C. rupeliensis from the Oligocene of Belgium are synonymous with each other, with C. gosseleti being the senior synonym, and have subsequently been placed in the genus Harriotta. Chimaera javana from the Miocene of Java is lost, and therefore considered a nomen dubium. "Chimaera" anomala from the Miocene of Australia is more similar to Ischyodus, and does not belong to Chimeridae.

Notes and References

1. Kemper, J.M. . Ebert, D.A. . Naylor, G.J.P. . Didier, D.A. . amp . 2014 . Chimaera carophila (Chondrichthyes: Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae), a new species of chimaera from New Zealand . Bulletin of Marine Science . 91 . 1 . 63–81 . 10.5343/bms.2014.1042.
2. Chimaera compacta, a new species from southern Indian Ocean, and an estimate of phylogenetic relationships within the genus Chimaera (Chondrichthyes: Chimaeridae). 2022. Iglésias. S. P.. Kemper. J. M.. Naylor. G. J. P.. amp. Ichthyological Research. 69. 1. 31–45. 233622655. 10.1007/s10228-021-00810-9. 2022IchtR..69...31I.
3. Luchetti, E.A.. Iglésias, S.P.. Sellos, D.Y.. amp . 2011 . Chimaera opalescens n. sp., a new chimaeroid (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali) from the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean . Journal of Fish Biology . 79 . 2 . 399–417 . 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03027.x. 21781099. 2011JFBio..79..399L .
4. Angulo, A. . López, M.I. . Bussing, W.A. . Murase, A. . amp . 2014 . Records of chimaeroid fishes (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes) from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with the description of a new species of Chimaera (Chimaeridae) from the eastern Pacific Ocean . Zootaxa . 3861 . 6 . 554–574 . 10.11646/zootaxa.3861.6.3. 25283429 .
5. Ebert. D.A.. Krajangdara. T.. Fahmi. Kemper. J.M.. Chimaera supapae (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae), a new species of chimaera from the Andaman Sea of Thailand. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 72. 84–90. 2024. 10.26107/RBZ-2024-0006.
6. Chimaeroid fish remains from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula . 1991 . Ward . David J. . Grande . Lance . Antarctic Science . 3 . 3 . 323–330 . 131686318 . 10.1017/S095410209100038X. 1991AntSc...3..323W .
7. Popov . Evgeny V. . Johns . Marjorie J. . Suntok . Stephen . 2020-01-02 . A New Genus of Chimaerid Fish (Holocephali, Chimaeridae) from the Upper Oligocene Sooke Formation of British Columbia, Canada . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . en . 40 . 1 . e1772275 . 10.1080/02724634.2020.1772275 . 2020JVPal..40E2275P . 221751740 . 0272-4634.
8. Stahl . Barbara J. . Chatterjee . Sankar . 1999 . A Late Cretaceous Chimaerid (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from Seymour Island, Antarctica . Palaeontology . 42 . 6 . 979–989 . 10.1111/1475-4983.00105 . free. 1999Palgy..42..979S .