Pacific longnose chimaera (Harriotta raleighana)

Scientific name: Harriotta raleighana Goode & Bean, 1895

The Pacific longnose chimaera (Harriotta raleighana) is a marine fish of the family Rhinochimaeridae.

Biology

Dorsal spines: 1; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. A longnose chimaera with a rather long, narrow, depressed snout, a small eye situated above or behind the mouth, a rather long first dorsal fin and spine, knobby tooth plates, and caudal fin lanceolate with no tubercles on upper edge but with a long terminal filament. Dark brown or blackish in color. No separate anal fin. Claspers are rod like, rather slender, unbranched, with tip somewhat swollen. Jugular and oral canals arising separately from orbital, with a short interspace; angular canal joining suborbital about 2/7 of distance from front level of eye toward tip of snout.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Harriotta raleighana
Family: Rhinochimaeridae (Longnose chimaeras)
Order: Chimaeriformes (Chimaeras)
Class: Holocephali (Chimaeras)
Maximum length: 120
Depth range: 200–2600 m (656–8530 ft)
Environment: Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 200 - 2600 m
Climate: Deep-water
Distribution: Eastern Atlantic: Iceland, Faeroe Islands, Rockall Trough along Ireland to northern France; Canary Islands and off Cap Blanc, Mauritania; Namibia and South Africa. Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada to Chesapeake Bay in USA; southern Brazil. North Pacific: off Japan and California, USA; also 100 km off southern Baja California. South Pacific: off New Zealand and Australia.
Conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: of no interest
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming Fec

Sources

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

Last updated 27 September 2026