The southern chimaera (''Chimaera fulva'') is a

chimaera Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes , known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively. At ...

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 lon ...

. It lives in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, usually in marine waters 780 to 1095 meters deep. It can grow to a maximum length of at least 100 centimeters, and is sometimes confused with ''

Chimaera obscura The shortspine chimaera (''Chimaera obscura''), also commonly known as the short spine chimaera, is a chimaera species in the family Chimaeridae, which lives off of the east coast of Australia. Description The shortspine chimaera is similar to ...

'', a similar species in its genus.

Description

Male specimens of the southern chimaera can grow up to a maximum total length of 100 centimeters, and females can grow to 118.7 centimeters. Its coloring ranges from a silver pink to a pale brown. Its dorsal spine is short, and males have large

claspers In biology, a clasper is a male anatomical structure found in some groups of animals, used in mating. Male cartilaginous fish have claspers formed from the posterior portion of their pelvic fin which serve to channel semen into the female's ...

, which contain bristles at the end. The species is sometimes confused with ''

'', a related species commonly known as the shortspine chimaera. However, the species are different morphological; notably, ''C. fulva'' is lighter in color than ''C. obscura''.

Behavior and habitat

The southern chimaera is a bathydemersal marine species, typically living in waters 780 to 1095 meters deep, though it has been found in shallower waters as well. The species is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

Distribution and conservation

The southern chimaera is distributed in areas off the coast of

, from the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the east to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It lives in the southwest Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean. It is a relatively uncommon species, but its population is currently stable. The exact population of the species is unknown. The species is a common bycatch by fisheries in southern Australia. It is estimated that the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery catches roughly 12 tonnes of the species a year as a bycatch. Despite these issues, there are currently no conservation actions taking place for the species. IUCN lists it as being of

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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2435860 southern chimaera Marine fish of Southern Australia southern chimaera