Owston's chimaera

4/15/2019

Well, we're sorry to say we couldn't find much for this chimaera-- not even a picture! The IUCN page for this animal leads us to a dead end for the Owston's chimaera, scientifically known as Chimaera owstoni. They are a species of fish in the Chimaeridae family, and are endemic to Japan and the country's open seas.

TFUI has discussed “ghost sharks” (also known as “rabbitfishes” and “ratfishes”) briefly before, not really focusing on a specific species but the chimaeras as a whole. The chimaeras (Chimaeridae family) are a cosmopolitan species, found in temperate and tropical seas around the world. They occur in every ocean basin, but are absent anywhere 60° N or S. They can be found in benthic to benthopelagic zones, continental and insular slopes, nearshore waters and the deep sea (they’ve been recorded over 1,000 meters deep!). Unlike other elasmobranchs (i.e. sharks, skates and rays) the chimaeras have a fleshy operculum that covers their single gill slit. They tend to have big eyes and a small mouth.

There are a few things we can assume of these animals that we know from other chimaeras. For example, this chimaera is most likely oviparous, and probably lays two eggs at a time. Like other chimaeras, their first dorsal fin probably has a large venomous spine in front of it, too. That's all we have for them right now!