Rabbit Fish

Chimaera monstrosa

• Group: Other
• Typical depth: 40–1400 m
• Max size: 1.5 m
• For divers: dangerous
• IUCN status: VU

A chimaera of the deep slope rather than a true shark, it carries a venomous spine at the front of its dorsal fin and swims with slow beats of its broad pectoral fins. It usually keeps between 300 and 500 metres but moves into shallower northern waters in summer, drifting in small groups while it picks invertebrates off the bottom. Reaching about a metre and a half, it earns its other name, the rabbitfish, from its blunt buck toothed face.

Taxonomy: Animalia › Chordata › Holocephali › Chimaeriformes › Chimaeridae › Chimaera

Species data via the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), AphiaID 105824.