Name

Chimaera monstrosa

rabbit fish, rat fish

Framing

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Holocephali

Order: Chimaeriformes

Genus: Chimaera

Species: monstrosa

Habitat

Marine. Necto-benthic of great depths between 200 m and 1000 m.

Feeding

Free life. Solitary. Predator.

Distribution

In the Atlantic from Norway to Morocco, also in Iceland, Azores, Madeira and Mediterranean.

Conservation status

Not catalogued with any category of threat in Spain, although at world level it is considered vulnerable (VU) according to the IUCN red list due to its low fecundity and very late sexual maturity (11 years), and the overfishing to which it is accidentally subjected together with other species of greater commercial value. Included in the HELCOM Red List of Threatened or Declining Fish Species with MEDIUM priority.

Additional information

Cartilaginous fish, up to 150 cm long, large head with a small snout and gill slits covered by a fleshy operculum. Two dorsal fins, the first narrow, very prominent and carrying a venomous sting, the second runs along the entire dorsum and ends almost without interruption in a long, whip-like tail. Oviparous.