THE FINS UNITED INITIATIVE
  • About TFUI
    • TFUI Origins >
      • About TFUI Founder Melissa
      • TFUI Officers
    • Take a Bite
    • Get Involved
    • FAQ
  • Bite Blog
  • Education
    • The Sharks >
      • Shark Anatomy
    • The Skates & Rays
    • The Chimaeras
    • Why Environments Matter
    • The Threats
    • Open Access >
      • Behind the Fins: Interview series
      • Bite into Research
      • Shark Bites: Book Recommendations
      • Sustainable Seafood Apps
  • Fins United
    • Shark Party Ideas
    • Little Fins Nursery
    • Big Fins Reef
  • Contact

Cape elephantfish

3/25/2019

 
Picture
Photo: Wikipedia/ Alan Horstmann
We are talking about chimaeras today! Specifically the Cape elephantfish, also known as Callorhinchus capensis scientifically. This chimaera species is endemic to southern Africa, found from South Africa and Namibia. Here they have been observed from the coastal inshore waters to as deep as 374 metres below our waves (but they are rarely caught deeper than 150 metres, according to scientists). ​
The Cape elephantfish is a smooth silvery (sometimes looks bronze) chimaera in the Callorhinchidae family.  This particular chimaera can reach a total length (TL) of 120 cm. Like other elephantfishes, they have a hoe-like proboscis in front of their snout that helps them dig through soft sediment looking for food. Food includes sea urchins, bivalves, crustaceans, gastropods, worms, and bony fish. #Finfact: Their first dorsal fin has a large venomous spine in front of it!

This chimaera is oviparous, and lays two eggs at a time. The egg case is large (measuring at about 25 cm) and spindle-shaped, with a ragged frill all around it. This shape is ideal for burying it in the soft sediment these chimaeras love. In the shallows the females and males come together to mate, with the females later laying eggs inshore too. The female cape elephantfish - also know as St. Josef shark or St. Josef chimaera- can mature at around 50 cm and the males at around 44 cm. 

In South Africa, they are abundant species off the west and south coast, but uncommon along the east coast off KwaZulu-Natal. Due to this, there is even a fishery in this country! The St Joseph fishery is based primarily on that west coast where they are abundant, and fishermen can catch up to 650 tons annually using bottom set gillnets. Don't think this is an unsupervised fishery, however, as it is maintained by the number of nets a permit holder can have (no more than four net permits). According to the IUCN website: "Nets are set in daylight for a period of about 30 minutes and may not be set within 500 m of the high-water mark (Freer and Griffiths 1993a)." And as for any recreational fishing here? "The recreational line fishery in South Africa is managed by a bag limit of one/species/person/day for unspecified chondrichthyans, which includes C. capensis. " Sweet!

The species is also taken as byproduct in demersal trawl fisheries. In another country, Namibia, they are not commercially targeted but are taken as bycatch of demersal trawl fishing (not in large numbers).
Still, no major threats outside of this fishery exist (outside of predatory snails or any other animal that wants to munch on a chimaera like a seal or a shark) and therefore the IUCN feels comfortable assessing this animal as "Least Concern" (LC).

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS ANIMAL?

GLOSSARY

  • IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.

SAY HELLO!

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Picture
EASTERN HIGHFIN SPURDOG
Picture
RED-BLOTCHED RIVER STINGRAY
Picture
PORTUGUESE DOGFISH

Comments are closed.

    Author

    TFUI Founder Melissa C. Marquez is author of all animal bios and "Behind the Fins" segments.
    ​
    A proud #LatinainSTEM, Marquez is a marine biologist who focuses on shark habitat use and movements; she is also a science communicator (follow her on Twitter) who focuses on diverse Chondrichthyan education and who focuses on the media coverage of sharks.
    You can learn more about her on her website.

    SEE MELISSA'S TEDx TALK HERE:

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Subscribe to The Fins United Initiative's monthly newsletter.

    SEARCH BY CATEGORIES

    Picture
    SHARKS
    Picture
    SKATES &
    ​RAYS
    Picture
    CHIMAERA

    READER FAVORITES

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    FOLLOW ALONG ON INSTAGRAM

    @finsunitedinitiative
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • About TFUI
    • TFUI Origins >
      • About TFUI Founder Melissa
      • TFUI Officers
    • Take a Bite
    • Get Involved
    • FAQ
  • Bite Blog
  • Education
    • The Sharks >
      • Shark Anatomy
    • The Skates & Rays
    • The Chimaeras
    • Why Environments Matter
    • The Threats
    • Open Access >
      • Behind the Fins: Interview series
      • Bite into Research
      • Shark Bites: Book Recommendations
      • Sustainable Seafood Apps
  • Fins United
    • Shark Party Ideas
    • Little Fins Nursery
    • Big Fins Reef
  • Contact