The Rhinochimaeridae, commonly known as long-nosed chimaeras, are a family of cartilaginous fish. They are similar in form and habits to other chimaeras, but have an exceptionally long conical or paddle-shaped snout. The snout has numerous sensory nerve endings, and is used to find food such as small fish. The first dorsal fin includes a mildly venomous spine, used in defense.
Long-nosed chimaeras are found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide, from in depth. In August 2020, a long-nosed chimaera was brought up from off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
They range from in maximum total length, depending on species.
Species The ten known species are in three genera:
Family Rhinochimaeridae Genus Harriotta Goode & Bean, 1895 (Late Cretaceous to present) Harriotta avia Finucci, Didier, Ebert, Green, & Kemper, 2024 (Australasian narrow-nosed spookfish) Harriotta haeckeli Karrer, 1972 (smallspine spookfish) Harriotta raleighana Goode & Bean, 1895 (narrownose chimaera)
Genus Neoharriotta Bigelow & Schroeder, 1950 Neoharriotta carri Bullis & J. S. Carpenter, 1966 (dwarf sicklefin chimaera) Neoharriotta pinnata Schnakenbeck, 1931 (sicklefin chimaera) Neoharriotta pumila Didier & Stehmann, 1996 (Arabian sicklefin chimaera) Genus Rhinochimaera Garman, 1901 Rhinochimaera africana Compagno, Stehmann & Ebert, 1990 (paddlenose chimaera) Rhinochimaera atlantica Holt & Byrne, 1909 (broadnose chimaera) Rhinochimaera costaricana Vidaurre-Quesada, Salas-Jimenez, Carvajal-Rodriguez, Lara-Quesada, Santos, Araripe & Angulo, 2026 (Costa Rican longnose chimaera) Rhinochimaera pacifica Mitsukuri, 1895 (Pacific spookfish) Genus Amylodon Storms, 1895 (Late Cretaceous-Paleogene)
References
External links