Opal chimaera (Chimaera opalescens)

Scientific name: Chimaera opalescens Luchetti, Igl?sias & Sellos, 2011

Opal chimaera (Chimaera opalescens)

The Opal chimaera (Chimaera opalescens) is a marine fish of the family Chimaeridae. Native range: Atlantic Ocean, North-eastern Atlantic, along the slope to the west of the British Isles and France.

Biology

Chimaera opalescens can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: body evenly coloured, iridescent, varying from beige to tan in adults and bronzish in juveniles; unpaired fins brown to purple, uniformly coloured or with pale or whitish edges; iris black; claspers tripartite divided for one third of their length, not extending beyond the pelvic fins in adults; dorsal spine equal or shorter than first dorsal fin; ventral caudal lobe equal or deeper than the dorsal caudal lobe. Comparison of DNA sequences of the CO1 gene with those of related species supported C. opalescens as a distinct species.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Chimaera opalescens
Family
Chimaeridae (Shortnose chimaeras or ratfishes)
Order
Chimaeriformes (Chimaeras)
Class
Holocephali (Chimaeras)
Maximum length
96.8
Depth range
900–1400 m (2953–4593 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; depth range 900 - 1400 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Atlantic Ocean: North-eastern Atlantic, along the slope to the west of the British Isles and France.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries:

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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