Chimera squad. Is it possible to eat Chimera fish? Genitourinary organs of chimeras

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 order Chimaeriformes, among which there is 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 “Cartilaginous fish” class, 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 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 ventral 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 digestive tract of chimeras, 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 chimaera using 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.

• Subclass: Holocephali = Whole-headed, fused-skull fish
• Order: Chimaeriformes = Chimera-like
• Family: Callorhinchidae Garman, 1901 = Callorhinchidae, stuporous chimeras
• Species: Callorhinchus milii (Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1823) = Australian [Australian-New Zealand] callorhinchus

Family: Callorhinchidae = Callorhynchidae, stuporous chimeras

WHOLE-HEADED FISH (holocephali) - a subclass of cartilaginous fish, includes a single order of chimera-like fish, divided into three families. The body length of whole-headed fish is from 60 cm to two meters. They are distinguished by the presence of four pairs of gill slits and the absence of a squirter. The skeleton is partially calcified. A characteristic feature of whole-headed animals is the absence of vertebral bodies and the fusion of the upper jaw with the skull (hence the name). The body is naked, “skin teeth” formed by placoid scales are located only on the jaws, the swim bladder is absent, and there is an arterial cone in the heart. Unlike elasmobranch fishes, wholeheads lack a cloaca.

Whole-headed animals are exclusively marine, usually deep-sea animals. These are predators whose main food consists of bottom invertebrates (crabs, sea urchins, gastropods and bivalves), as well as some fish. Fertilization is internal. The male copulatory organ, or pterygopodia, is a modified pelvic fin. Whole-headed animals reproduce by laying eggs enclosed in a special capsule with outgrowths. The wholeheads are thought to have evolved from extinct shark-like ancestors and represent a lateral phylogenetic branch unrelated to bony fishes. They are known from the Upper Devonian, their heyday lasted until the Cretaceous period.

CHIMERAURA FISH

CHIMERO-FORM FISHES (Chimaeriformes) - a detachment of cartilaginous fishes of the subclass of whole-headed fishes, includes three families, about 30 species. The length of these fish is from 60 cm to 2 m, females are larger than males. The body is valval, slightly compressed laterally, gradually becoming thinner towards the tail, which in some species ends in a long thread. In front of the first dorsal fin there is a poisonous spine, which can be retracted into a special recess on the back. The second dorsal fin is very long, reaching the beginning of the caudal fin. The pectoral fins are large and fan-shaped, the pelvic fins are smaller. The mouth is small, lower, there is no squirter, the rostrum protruding forward forms the so-called snout. In species of the chimera fish family it is short and blunt, in representatives of the nosed chimera family it is elongated like a long peak, and in the callorhynchus family it is shaped like a hoe. Chimera-like creatures breathe with their mouths closed because they pump water into the mouth. The naked body is covered with abundant mucus.

These are deep-sea fish that lead a bottom-dwelling lifestyle. They are found at depths of up to 2500 m in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, and are absent in the Arctic Ocean and Antarctic waters. At least the smaller species are gregarious. Chimaeras swim quite quickly, bending their tail in waves and scooping up water with their pectoral fins, using their horizontally spaced pelvic fins as stabilizers. They are active at night, feeding on bottom invertebrates (mollusks, crabs, brittle stars, sea urchins), and less often on small fish.

Fertilization is internal; carried out with the help of special copulatory organs of the male - pterygopodia. Chimaeras reproduce by laying eggs, each of which is enclosed in a horny capsule 12–42 cm long. After 9–12 months, fully formed fish emerge from the eggs. Chimaeras are of commercial importance on the Pacific coast of the United States, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Japan and China. The fat from the liver is used as a medicine and lubricant, and the meat is used as food. Extinct representatives of the order are found from the Lower Jurassic, and modern genera from the Upper Cretaceous.

CALLORHYNCHIS

CALLORHINCHES (proboscis-snouted chimeras) (Callorhinchidae), family of cartilaginous fish, subclass whole-headed, 1 genus, 3-4 species. Body length is about 1 m, weight - up to 10 kg. The body color is greenish-yellow, with three black stripes along the sides. The mucus covering the body has special light-refracting properties, which is why freshly caught fish have a bright silvery-rainbow tint. The front part of the snout is elongated into a kind of laterally compressed proboscis, the end of which, with a transverse leaf-shaped blade, is sharply bent back. It probably serves both as a locator and as a shovel. With its help, fish hovering above the bottom can detect and dig out invertebrates buried in the ground. Tail without filamentous appendage. The anal fin is short, separated from the caudal fin by a deep notch.

Distributed only in temperate and moderately cold waters of the southern hemisphere - off the coast of South America (from Southern Brazil and Peru to Tierra del Fuego), South Africa, South Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. They are usually caught at depths from 5 to 50 m. In the cold season they go down to 200 m and deeper. Females lay egg capsules ranging in length from 17 to 42 cm. In New Zealand, Callorhinchus milii is hunted and used as food.

NOSE CHIMERAS (rhinochimaeridae), family of cartilaginous fishes of the subclass of whole-headed fishes, 3 genera, 6 species.

They are distinguished by a highly elongated, pointed snout. They are the deepest-sea representatives of the order, as a result of which they are known from a very small number of finds. Almost nothing is known about their lifestyle and biology. Found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Apparently they also live in the Indian Ocean, where their egg capsules were found.

The chocolate brown Harriotta haeckeli reaches a length of 1.03 m. It is known from the North Atlantic from depths of 1800-2600 m.

In the genus of long-nosed chimeras, which gives its name to the entire family, two species are known. The Atlantic long-nosed chimera (Rhinochimaera allantica) is found in the North Atlantic, and the Pacific long-nosed chimera (Rhinochimaera pacifica) is found off the coast of Japan.

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.

The depths of the sea have not been explored well enough, but even among the species known to us there are truly unusual specimens. One of the most striking examples is the chimera fish. At one time she was caught by Canadian fishermen. The poor fellows thought that they had come across a genetic mutant, this creature looked so unusual! However, after this ocean dweller became known, opinions about her appearance were divided. Some people see her as the sweetest creature, while others consider her a monster. Even its name in different countries confirms very disparate impressions: somewhere it is also called a chimera, somewhere - a sea hare or a rabbit, and in other places - a king fish.

The chimera even somewhat resembles a bird, fish and crocodile. She has an elongated body, huge ribbed fins that resemble wings, emerald eyes and an unusual pointed head. What gives her special charm is the presence of a poisonous thorn, which is located on her back.

In fact, the chimera is a relative of the stingray and shark, namely a subspecies of cartilaginous fish. Traits of both of these representatives of the seas can be found in our heroine. In total, there are several types of chimeras in biology, namely six. This creature lives at relatively shallow depths and prefers the warm waters of the Pacific and Atlantic. Moreover, it can be found at a depth of 40 meters to one and a half thousand kilometers.

Despite its harsh appearance, the “sea hare” is an extremely gentle and sensitive creature. She does not know how to resist enemies, dies instantly in the air and almost does not survive in an aquarium. In addition, she swims quite slowly. It looks very graceful, but it does not allow you to escape from predators. Interesting fact: the chimera fish can “stand” on the bottom, relying on its numerous fins and tail.

Although chimeras are predators. They will not cause harm to humans: their prey is small crustaceans and mollusks. At the same time, people sometimes catch “king fish” for food.

The European chimera (lat. Chimaera monstrosa) is a cartilaginous fish of the Chimaeridae family of the Chimaeriformes order. Like sharks and rays, its axial skeleton consists of a cartilaginous chord without segmental constrictions.

The meat of this fish has an unpleasant aftertaste, so its extraction has no industrial significance. It is caught mainly only for its very large liver, which is used in folk medicine to treat diseases of the musculoskeletal system and sore throat.

It got its name in honor of the monster of ancient Greek mythology with the body of a goat, the face of a lion and the tail of a snake.

The monster lived in the territory of what is now Turkey, spewed fire from its mouth and, like our dear Serpent-Gorynych, ate delicious captives from the Black Sea region.

The European chimera, despite its sharp, strong jaws, is not interested in human flesh and can only pose a danger to particularly stupid divers.

Distribution and behavior

This species is found in cool waters in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, the south of the Adriatic and the western Mediterranean Seas. In the north, the boundaries of the range are located off the southern coast of Iceland and Norway, and in the south, off the western coast of North Africa.

The European chimera also lives in the Azores and Great Britain. It is most often observed at depths from 100 to 500 m. Some individuals manage to descend to depths of up to 1500 m in search of food.

Fish prefer to be near the bottom in small schools.

Being very voracious predators, they tirelessly swim around their home area in search of prey. Large oar-like pectoral fins help them move quickly through the water.

The diet consists of marine mollusks, echinoderms and crustaceans. The mouth opening located on the lower part of the snout allows chimeras to deftly pick up food directly from the surface of the bottom. To search for prey, electroreceptors are used, which in structure resemble similar receptors in a shark.

Features of morphology

Gill covers cover 4 gill slits. There are two small splashes on the crown of the head. There is no stomach. The digestive tract of the European chimera consists of a tubular rectum.

The jaws are armed with hard dental plates. There are 2 pairs of such plates in the upper jaw, and one in the lower jaw. They are highly durable and can easily crush the shells of sea creatures.

To protect themselves from predators, chimeras use a poisonous spine located on their back.

In summer they like to stay in shallow waters, and as winter approaches they move to deeper waters.

Reproduction

The reproduction of European chimeras has been studied relatively little due to their secretive bottom-dwelling lifestyle. Each female ovary contains up to a hundred eggs, but only the two largest eggs mature and are laid.

Each such egg is placed in a huge bottle-shaped yellow-brown horny capsule approximately 16-17 cm long and 2-3 cm wide.

First, it is attached to the body of the female, and then, with the help of a bundle of long and tenacious threads, it is attached to stones, algae, or to the hulls of sunken ships in close proximity to the bottom.

The female lays 2 eggs as they mature. The development of embryos, depending on environmental conditions, can last from 12 to 18 months. The hatchlings, about 11 cm long, are miniature copies of their parents. Immediately after birth, they begin to hunt on their own.

Description

The body length reaches 100-120 cm, and the weight is 2.5 kg. The elongated body is slightly compressed from the sides. The upper and lateral parts of the body are brown, and the ventral part is silvery with a gray tint. Light spots in the form of a marble pattern are visible on the sides.

A lateral line stretches along the middle of the body, branching on the head. The tail is very thin and long. The skin is devoid of scales and covered with a layer of mucus. Large pectoral fins are used as the main propulsion force.

The large head ends in a blunt snout. In males, a club-shaped frontal appendage grows on the head between the eyes. The first dorsal fin is short and high, and the second is long and low. A poisonous spine grows in front of the first dorsal fin.

The eyes with turquoise irises are located at the top of the head. There is a small mouth opening at the bottom of the snout.

The lifespan of the European chimera is about 30 years.