Checklist of Living Chimaeras

Some 42 species of living chimaera are known, divided into three families. 

Callorhinchidae

Callorhinchus callorhinchus (Linnaeus) 1758 American Elephantfish
Callorhinchus capensis Dumeril 1865 Cape Elephantfish
Callorhinchus milli Bory de St. Vincent 1823 Elephantfish

Rhinochimaeridae

Harriotta haeckeli Karrer 1972 Smallspine Spookfish
Harriotta raleighana Goode & Bean 1895 Narrownose Chimaera
Neoharriotta carri Bullis & Carpenter 1966 Dwarf Sicklefin Chimaera
Neoharriotta pinnata (Schnackenbeck) 1931 Sicklefin Chimaera
Neoharriotta pumila Didier & Stehmann 1996 Arabian Sicklefin Chimaera
Rhinochimaera africana Compagno, Stehmann & Ebert 1990 Paddlenose Chimaera
Rhinochimaera atlantica Holt & Byrne 1909 Spearnose Chimaera
Rhinochimaera pacifica (Mitsukuri) 1895 Pacific Spookfish

Chimaeridae

Chimaera cubana Howell-Rivero 1936 Cuban Chimaera
Chimaera jordani Tanaka 1905 Jordan's Chimaera
Chimaera lignaria Didier 2002 Giant Purple Chimaera
Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus 1758 Rabbitfish
Chimaera owstoni Tanaka 1905 Owston's Chimaera
Chimaera panthera Didier 1998 Leopard Chimaera
Chimaera phantasma Jordan & Snyder 1900 Silver Chimaera
Chimaera sp. A Last & Stevens 1994 Southern Chimaera
Chimaera sp. B Last & Stevens 1994 Shortspine Chimaera
Chimaera sp. C Last & Stevens 1994 Longspine Chimaera
Chimaera sp. G Compagno et al.  in prep. Cape Chimaera
Hydrolagus affinis (Capello) 1867 Atlantic Chimaera
Hydrolagus africana (Gilchrist) 1922 African Chimaera
Hydrolagus alberti Bigelow & Schroeder 1951 Gulf Chimaera
Hydrolagus barbouri (Garman) 1908 Ninespot Chimaera
Hydrolagus bemisi Didier 2002 Pale Ghost Shark
Hydrolagus colliei (Lay & Bennett) 1839 Spotted Ratfish
Hydrolagus lemures (Whitley) 1939 Blackfin Ghostshark
Hydrolagus matallanasi Soto & Vooren 2004 Striped Rabbitfish
Hydrolagus macropthalmus de Buen 1959 Bigeye Chimaera
Hydrolagus mirabilis (Collett) 1904 Large-eyed Rabbitfish
Hydrolagus mitsukurii (Jordan & Snyder) 1904 Mitsukurii's Chimaera
Hydrolagus novaezealandiae (Fowler) 1910 Dark Ghostshark
Hydrolagus ogilbyi (Waite) 1898 Ogilby's Ghostshark
Hydrolagus pallidus Hardy & Stehmann 1990 Pale Chimaera
Hydrolagus purpurescens (Gilbert) 1905 Purple Chimaera
Hydrolagus trolli Didier & Séret 2002 Pointy-nosed Blue Chimaera
Hydrolagus sp. A Last & Stevens 1994 Black Ghostshark
Hydrolagus sp. B Last & Stevens 1994 Marbled Ghostshark
Hydrolagus sp. D & G Didier, Compagno pers. obs. Giant Black Chimaera
Hydrolagus sp. F Chirichigno 1974 Peruvian Ratfish
 
 

ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research
Text and illustrations © R. Aidan Martin
Copyright | Privacy