The cape chimaera (''Chimaera notafricana'') is a chimaera species in the family

Chimaeridae The Chimaeridae, or short-nosed chimaeras, are a family of cartilaginous fish. They resemble other chimaeras in general form and habits, but have short, rounded snouts, without the modifications found in related families. Many species have lo ...

, which lives in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Taxonomy

The cape chimaera is one of 16 species in the genus Chimaera. The species was described in 2010 by Kemper, Ebert Compagno and Didier. Prior to 2010, specimens were classified under the species ''

Chimaera monstrosa ''Chimaera monstrosa'', also known as the rabbit fish or rat fish, is a northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean species of cartilaginous fish in the family Chimaeridae. The rabbit fish is known for its characteristically large head and small, tape ...

'', commonly known as the rabbit fish, before further studies showed that they had a number of differences in distribution and appearance, enough to classify them as two separate species.

Habitat and distribution

The cape chimaera is found in the southeast Atlantic Ocean, in the waters off Namibia as well as South Africa, particularly in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

Northern Cape Province The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...

, and

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...

. Its exact population being unknown, but it is thought to be an uncommon species. Although the species is occasionally caught as a bycatch by deepwater fisheries, it is not threatened and is not sought out for commercial purposes. Currently, there are no conservation measures taking place on behalf of the species and as of November 18, 2010 it is listed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by IUCN. The cape chimaera lives in waters – deep. It is believed to be a benthic species, living at the sea floor of the continental slope. Little else is known about its habitat of the species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5860887 Chimaera Marine fish of South Africa Fish of Namibia Fish described in 2010