Chimaera

Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes /kɪˈmɛrɪfɔːrmiːz/, 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.

This article is about the cartilaginous fish order. For the namesake genus, see Chimaera (genus). For the mythological beast, see Chimera (mythology). For other uses, see Chimera.
"Ghost shark" redirects here. For the film, see Ghost Shark (film).

Chimaeras
Temporal range:
Hydrolagus colliei (Chimaeridae)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Holocephali
Order: Chimaeriformes
Obruchev, 1953
Subgroups

At one time a "diverse and abundant" group (based on the fossil record), their closest living relatives are sharks and rays, though their last common ancestor with them lived nearly 400 million years ago. Living species are largely confined to deep water.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.