Chimera fish interesting facts. How to cook chimera fish. Is chimera fish edible? Natural enemies of chimeras. Fertilization and reproduction

What different and unusual fish exist in nature, and what names have not been invented for them! For example, the chimera fish: the very name of this animal evokes not the most pleasant associations. And if you look at this inhabitant depths of the sea, then opinions may be divided. Some see a very cute and cute fish that looks like a soaring bird, while others see a monster. So who is she really, this mysterious sea resident, who is also called by another strange name - sea hare fish.

Very close relatives of the chimera are and: they are all cartilaginous fish and have a backbone made of cartilaginous tissue. Look at the photo of the chimera fish and try to find common features with sharks!

All the most interesting things about chimeras

When the name chimera is mentioned, it does not mean that there is only one single species. The genus Chimaera (lat. Chimaera) unites 6 species, of which the most famous is the European chimera (lat. Chimaera monstrosa) from the eastern Atlantic. There is a Cuban chimera (Chimaera cubana), which was first mistaken for European, but was later identified as independent species. It lives off the coast of Cuba at a depth of 400-500 meters. Other species of the genus Chimera are known from the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean (Philippine Islands, Yellow Sea and Japanese Islands).

Place of chimeras in the fish system

The genus Chimera, of which the European chimera is a representative, is included in the family Chimaeridae, in which there is another genus with species that differ from the genus Chimera in the shape of the caudal fin.

All fish of the Chimaera family have a blunt snout. This important difference from other families of the order Chimaeriformes, among which there is the family. Nosed chimeras with a very elongated snout and a pointed one at the end. And the third family is the proboscis-snouted chimeras (Callorhynchaceae). They are distinguished by the elongated and bent down and back of the front end of the snout.

Below, in the photo, chimera fish are depicted in drawings, and you can see the differences in the structure of the snout in representatives of each family, which were mentioned above.

As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, the chimera fish is cartilaginous, and accordingly, belongs to the class “Cartilaginous fish,” which has two subclasses. Having a lot in common in the internal and external structure with elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), chimeras differ from them in that their upper jaw is completely fused with the skull. Therefore, they are classified into the subclass Whole-headed or Joint-skulled.

Appearance of chimaeras

All chimaeras have characteristic shape body: valval, slightly compressed from the sides and very thinning towards the tail. This is clearly visible in the photo of the sea hare fish (European chimera).

Other features of the appearance of chimera representatives:

• There are two fins on the back, the first is tall and short, having a powerful spike in front, which together with it, if necessary, fits into a special groove in the back. The second is long and can stretch all the way to the base of the caudal fin and does not fold.
• The caudal fin is often shaped like a long cord.
• The pectoral fins are very well developed and each of them is shaped like a fan.
• The pelvic fins are smaller than the pectoral fins and are located next to the anus, being pushed back.
• At the base, all paired fins are equipped with fleshy blades, thin and flexible.
• The lower mouth (lower) of chimeras has a characteristic three-lobed upper lip.
• The gill openings located on the sides of the head are covered by a fold of skin supported by finger-like cartilages.
• The naked body, devoid of placoid scales, is covered with a large amount of mucus.

European chimeras - beauties or beasts?

European chimera wears Latin name Chimaera monstrosa, which evokes associations with some kind of monster. This fish has many names, one of the names that the chimera fish bears is the hare. This may be due to the large, slightly elongated pectoral fins and huge eyes. It is also called sea rabbit fish, apparently for the same reasons.

And among the Norwegians, the chimera is a royal fish. It is called so because of the thin bony growth curved backwards, which is located between the eyes of males.

The body length of the European chimera can be up to one or one and a half meters, and its tail is very long and thin, so another name has been assigned to it - the sea rat.

What color is the chimera?

Rudimentary spines are sometimes found on the bare skin of the European chimera. However, the skin looks smooth and soft and has a characteristic color:

• the back is in dark brown and golden shades in combination with brown and whitish, a dark brown stripe stretches along the upper part of the back;
• the ventral side of the body is light;
• a blackish-brown edging is noticeable on the back of the long dorsal fin, as well as on the caudal and anal fins.

Completes the color image of the chimera green color the pupil against the background of the white iris of her huge eyes.

Distribution, lifestyle and movement

European chimera fish tropical waters does not occur. Its range is the eastern part Atlantic Ocean:

• In northern waters - from Strait of Gibraltar(coastal waters of Morocco) to the island of Iceland and the Scandinavian Peninsula with entry into the Barents Sea.
• Southern waters - near the coast of southern Africa (this information requires confirmation).

The sea hare fish spends most of its life at the bottom, so ichthyologists classify it as a bathydimersal (bottom deep-sea) fish. After all, the depth at which it can be found is from 40 to 1400 meters. But most often this species lives at relatively shallow depths: two hundred to five hundred meters (in the northernmost part of its range) and three hundred and fifty to seven hundred meters (in the waters off the coast of Morocco). By winter it comes to coastal waters, where off the coast of Norway (where the depth is from 90 to 180 meters) a number of individuals can be caught by trawls.

These fish are quite gentle and do not resist at all when caught. Once removed from the water, they die very quickly. Placed in an aquarium, they do not survive well.

Way to travel

The chimera or sea rabbit fish is not a fast and high-speed swimmer, and it does not need it. See how gracefully she moves with the eel-like curve of her hindquarters and tail and the undulating strokes of her large pectoral fins, resembling wings. The pelvic fins are also involved in ensuring the swimming of the fish; they are located horizontally and act as movement stabilizers.

Being at the bottom, chimeras can “stand” on the ground, resting on almost all of their fins: the pectoral and pelvic fins serve as four limbs, and the tail serves as additional support.

Nutrition issue

This part of the article is devoted to two questions:

• what does sea rabbit fish eat?
• Is it possible to eat chimera fish, that is, sea rabbit?

The diet of chimeras consists mainly of benthic invertebrates. Among them are mollusks, crustaceans (mainly crabs), echinoderms (sea urchins, brittle stars). Small fish were only occasionally found in their stomachs. When examining the contents of the chimeras' digestive tract, it was discovered that they do not swallow food whole, but bite off small pieces of prey or crush it with strong dental plates.

Do people eat chimeras?

So, is it possible to eat chimera fish? There is no definitive answer to this question. Fishing for chimaeras is carried out off the Pacific coast of the United States; they are caught in Chile and Argentina, as well as in the waters of New Zealand and China. The volume of production is especially large in New Zealand, where representatives of the family Callorhynchidae (proboscis-snouted chimeras) are caught.

Only fresh callorhynchus meat, which has excellent taste, is suitable for food. However, if it sits for even a little while, it begins to emit an unpleasant odor of ammonia. For housewives cartilaginous fish the chimera, which does not have scales or hard bones, is, of course, very convenient to prepare.

Fat is extracted from the liver of chimeras, which has long been known as an excellent wound healing agent.

The current trend towards increasing the volume of catch of the European chimera using deep-sea trawling for the purpose of producing medicines from the liver oil of this fish has become the reason for listing this species in the IUCN Red List ( International Union nature conservation). The chimera hare fish has a protected status as a species close to a vulnerable position.

And in the air and on land and in water there live a huge number of amazing creatures, we not only haven’t seen many of them, but haven’t even heard about them. Here, for example, is a hare. No, not an ordinary hare, but a water hare.

In fact, it is, and she was nicknamed the hare because her head resembles the head of a hare or rabbit. And the jaws of this fish have several pairs of sharp incisors.

Sometimes this fish is called the sea rat because it spends most of its life at the very bottom and feeds there.

No less interesting is the scientific name of this fish, namely, chimera. European chimera - Chimaera monstrosa – cartilaginous big fish from the order Chimera. The sea hare can reach a length of one and a half to two meters.

Females are slightly smaller than males. The body is oval, flattened on the sides, the scales covering it are so small that they are almost invisible, therefore it seems that the skin of sea hares is smooth and shimmers in almost all the colors of the rainbow. Chimeras are able to change their color.

The head of these fish is triangular in shape, extended forward. The mouth is small.

Males have a growth bent in front between the eyes. So it can also be called a sea unicorn.

The chimera does not have a bubble, so it has to be in motion all the time so as not to fall to the bottom.

The fins of these fish have rays with poisonous glands; their pricking causes severe pain.

The sea hare lives at great depths and stays almost at the very bottom, most often in algae thickets, among coral reefs, where schools of fry live.

This fish feeds on algae, which it can gnaw for hours, like a hare on grass, shells, small fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.

If there is little food in one place, then the sea hare travels, moving to another place in search of food.

They are low in calories, so the sea hare needs a large amount of them to be full. Although they powerful jaws They also bite through hard food easily.

The sea hare does not spawn, but lays eggs, which are eaten by people.

Sea hares are found in the western Pacific Ocean, eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Barents Sea.

Despite the fact that hare eggs, for example, are considered a delicacy in Scandinavia, chimeras are not considered commercial fish. Until the 20th century, their meat was considered inedible. But the fat from their liver was used in medicinal purposes and as a lubricant.

But in the 20th century, scientists discovered that the white, juicy meat of hare fish is a valuable nutritious product. It contains protein that is completely digestible by the human body, vitamins such as A, D. E, a large number of fatty acids, macro and microelements.

Hare fish dishes are served in prestigious restaurants.

They are not only tasty, but also low in calories. 100 g of fish fillet contains 100-110 kcal.

It has been scientifically proven that eating hare fish meat lowers cholesterol levels in the blood and cleanses blood vessels, making them more elastic.

True, you need to know how to cut a sea hare so that poisonous fins do not get into your food.

In Korea, Thailand and the Philippines, sea hares are sold in markets.

For exotic lovers, experts advise buying hare fish carcass, which is sold frozen in some of our most specialized stores such as “Fish Empire”.

An indicator of the quality of the product is the fish’s transparent, shiny eyes and closed red gills.

The same stores also sell hare fish eggs.

Gourmets say that the taste of the cooked chimera is beyond praise.

This fish has no internal bones; instead of bones, the breast contains cartilage.

Hare fish is prepared in almost the same way as any other fish.

Fried Chimera

You will need:

Fish;
- flour;
- salt;
- vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

Cut the fish into pieces, rinse, dry with a paper towel, add salt, roll in flour and fry until cooked on both sides in vegetable oil in a frying pan.

Baked chimera with cheese

You will need:

500-600 g fish;
- 80-100 g of cheese;
- 2 eggs;
- salt to taste;
- breadcrumbs;
- vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

Grate the cheese and mix with the same amount of breadcrumbs.

Cut the fish into thin slices, add salt, dip in a well-beaten egg, roll in a mixture of breadcrumbs and cheese, place on a baking sheet well greased with oil and bake in the oven until done.

Sea hare with garnish

You will need:

150-200 g hare fish;
- 4 tomatoes;
- 2 onions;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 15 g parsley;
- vegetable oil;
- salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

Fry the fish on both sides in vegetable oil.

In another frying pan, fry the onion cut into rings, add the tomatoes cut into slices, simmer under the lid over low heat for about 5 minutes.

Add crushed garlic, chopped parsley, salt, pepper and simmer for another 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn.

Prepare boiled rice or mashed potatoes as a side dish. Place the side dish on a plate, then the fish and stewed vegetables on top.

Chimera baked in foil

You will need:

400 g fish fillet;
- 1 carrot;
- 1-2 onions;
- vegetable oil;
- salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

Rub the prepared fish with a mixture of salt, pepper and butter, place on foil, cover with onion rings and sprinkle with grated carrots, carefully wrap and bake in the oven until cooked.

Hare fish in red wine

You will need:

500 g fillet;
- 1 glass of red table wine;
- 2 onions;
- 1-2 parsley roots;
- 500 g potatoes;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of flour;
- 2 tbsp. spoons vegetable oil;
- 2 pcs. allspice peas;
- 3-4 cloves;
- 1-2 bay leaves;
- salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

Place chopped onion and parsley root in a deep frying pan. Bay leaf, allspice, cloves, Top with fish cut into pieces, add salt, pour wine and 1 glass of water, cover and simmer over low heat until tender.

The broth can be drained and served separately as a sauce. Garnish: boiled potatoes.

Chimera in orange sauce

You will need:

500 g fish;
- juice and zest of 1 orange;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of lemon juice;
- 2 yolks;
- 150 g butter;
- salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

Wash the fillet, dry it, sprinkle lemon juice and leave for 15 minutes.

Squeeze the juice out of the orange, grate the zest on a fine grater, and mix everything. Mix the yolks with 3 tbsp. spoons of water and beat with melted butter until creamy. Add orange juice.

Place the fillet in a frying pan, greased with oil, add salt, pour in the prepared sauce, cover with a lid and simmer until the fish is ready over low heat.

This fish is not one of the most popular sea ​​creatures. It is quite rare and many, having heard the name, will not even understand what it is about. we're talking about. Let's try to eliminate this ignorance a little. Chimera fish belong to the benthic and deep-sea inhabitants of the deep sea. This applies to all its known varieties. It is distributed in all oceans and seas of the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. Feeds on small fish, crustaceans, molluscs and starfish. It has a length of up to one and a half meters.

general information

The chimera fish, although clumsy and slow, is well suited for searching for prey on the seabed, such as shellfish. Some species of this underwater inhabitant are armed with a poisonous dorsal spine, which is an unexpected and real surprise for sharks and other predators who dare to attack it.

Let's find out what a chimera is.
The fish, the photo of which is in front of you, looks very funny, but that is until you learn about its poisonous weapon. How does she look for a tasty treat in the darkness, silt and algae? The chimera is superbly helped in this by its nose, which digs the bottom of the sea and has special receptors for searching. It lives and hunts mostly in shallow seas, but there are representatives who prefer to search for prey in deep waters.

Features of the chimera

“Silver trumpet” is the name of the chimera in New Zealand, served fried and with chips. And “White fillet” is an Australian delicacy. Let's say you come across a chimera fish. Is it possible to eat it? The answer is simple - of course, you can.

Types of chimeras and their habitats

There are three main types of our fish:

1. The chimera with a plow-shaped head belongs to the family Callorhynchidae, lives in shallow coastal waters and, thanks to its sensitive, unusually shaped snout, successfully finds mollusks in the sandy bottom.
2. Blunt-nosed, belongs to the family Chimaeridae, lives in deeper and darker waters, up to 500 meters deep. Thanks to its hypersensitive eyes, the ghost shark quickly and easily spots starfish and other local inhabitants. sea ​​waters, suitable for eating.
3. The long-nosed chimera fish from the family Rhinochimaeridae lives at even greater depths and has a sensitive elongated snout, which is designed to search for mollusks where there is no light at all.

The chimera fish itself, as the photo confirms, is very beautiful, with silvery spotted sides.

Chimera fish: how to cook in the oven

People from the camp that decided that it is quite edible claim that sea rabbit dishes are very tasty. In addition, you can often see this delicacy on store shelves. There is one plus here - the creepy-looking chimera is sold already cleaned. So, at the end of our introductory article, we will tell you the recipe for preparing our fish with vegetables in the oven.

For this we will need the following ingredients: one sea rabbit carcass, one carrot, one onion, fish seasonings, salt, half a lemon and a few tablespoons of vegetable oil.

The process of preparing a chimera in the oven

Let's start cooking with vegetables, since they need to be stewed first. Peel the carrots and grate them on a coarse grater. Place the frying pan on the fire, pour a little vegetable oil and lay out the vegetable. Next, we peel it to taste much more tender than usual, cut it into half rings and also put it in the frying pan. Mix the vegetables, add salt, add a little water (a few tablespoons) and cover with a lid. Stirring from time to time, simmer until fully cooked. It's time to get your hands on the fish. We cut off the short fin on the carcass with scissors. After that, cut it into small pieces. Pour seasonings and salt into a small saucer, mix them and rub each piece of fish with this mixture.

It will marinate while our vegetables are stewing. As soon as the onions and carrots are ready, take a baking dish and transfer the vegetables into it. There is no need to pre-grease the baking sheet with oil. Next, place pieces of chimera fish on top of the vegetables and squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto it. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, place the mold in it, and after 20 minutes delicious dish ready. It should be served hot with a side dish of rice or mashed potatoes. Bon appetit!

The European chimera (lat. Chimaera monstrosa) is a cartilaginous fish of the Chimaeridae family of the Chimaeriformes order. Like sharks and rays, its axial skeleton consists of a cartilaginous chord without segmental constrictions.

The meat of this fish has an unpleasant aftertaste, so its extraction has no industrial significance. It is caught mainly only for its very large liver, which is used in folk medicine for the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system and sore throat.

It got its name in honor of the monster ancient greek mythology with the body of a goat, the face of a lion and the tail of a snake.

The monster lived in the territory of what is now Turkey, spewed fire from its mouth and, like our dear Serpent-Gorynych, ate delicious captives from the Black Sea region.

The European chimera, despite its sharp, strong jaws, is not interested in humans and can only pose a danger to particularly stupid divers.

Distribution and behavior

This species is found in cool waters in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, southern Adriatic and western Mediterranean seas. In the north, the boundaries of the range are located off the southern coast of Iceland and Norway, and in the south, off the western coast of North Africa.

The European chimera also lives in the Azores and Great Britain. It is most often observed at depths from 100 to 500 m. Some individuals manage to descend to depths of up to 1500 m in search of food.

Fish prefer to be near the bottom in small schools.

Being very voracious predators, they tirelessly swim around their home area in search of prey. Large oar-like pectoral fins help them move quickly through the water.

The diet consists of sea ​​mollusks, echinoderms and crustaceans. Located on the bottom of the snout mouth opening allows chimeras to deftly pick up food directly from the surface of the bottom. To search for prey, electroreceptors are used, which in structure resemble similar receptors in a shark.

Features of morphology

Gill covers cover 4 gill slits. There are two small splashes on the crown of the head. There is no stomach. The digestive tract of the European chimera consists of a tubular rectum.

The jaws are armed with hard dental plates. There are 2 pairs of such plates in the upper jaw, and one in the lower jaw. They are highly durable and can easily crush the shells of sea creatures.

To protect themselves from predators, chimeras use a poisonous spine located on their back.

In summer they like to stay in shallow waters, and as winter approaches they move to deeper waters.

Reproduction

The reproduction of European chimeras has been studied relatively little due to their secretive bottom-dwelling lifestyle. Each female ovary contains up to a hundred eggs, but only the two largest eggs mature and are laid.

Each such egg is placed in a huge bottle-shaped yellow-brown horny capsule approximately 16-17 cm long and 2-3 cm wide.

At first it is attached to the body of the female, and then, with the help of a bundle of long and tenacious threads, it is attached to stones, algae or to the hulls of sunken ships in close proximity to the bottom.

The female lays 2 eggs as they mature. Development of embryos depending on conditions environment can last from 12 to 18 months. The hatchlings, about 11 cm long, are miniature copies of their parents. Immediately after birth, they begin to hunt on their own.

Description

The body length reaches 100-120 cm, and the weight is 2.5 kg. The elongated body is slightly compressed from the sides. The upper and lateral parts of the body are brown, and the ventral part is silvery with a gray tint. Light spots in the form of a marble pattern are visible on the sides.

A lateral line stretches along the middle of the body, branching on the head. The tail is very thin and long. The skin is devoid of scales and covered with a layer of mucus. Large pectoral fins are used as the main propulsion force.

The large head ends in a blunt snout. In males, a club-shaped frontal appendage grows on the head between the eyes. The first dorsal fin is short and high, and the second is long and low. A poisonous spine grows in front of the first dorsal fin.

The eyes with turquoise irises are located at the top of the head. There is a small mouth opening at the bottom of the snout.

The lifespan of the European chimera is about 30 years.

Order Chimaeriformes (V. M. Makushok)

Modern representatives of the order are characterized by a squamous body, somewhat compressed laterally and thinning towards the tail. Of the two dorsal fins, the first is located above the pectoral fins, short, high, armed with a strong spine in front; both the spike and the fin itself can be folded and retracted into the corresponding recess on the back. The second dorsal fin is very long, extends back almost to the beginning of the caudal fin, and is not folded. The narrow caudal fin is often continued in the form of a long thread. The anal fin is small, separated from the caudal fin by a deep notch or completely fused with it. The fan-shaped paired fins are well developed, the pelvic fins are smaller than the pectoral fins and are moved far back, attaching at the level of the anus. The fins have fleshy bases, their blades are thin and flexible. The mouth is small, lower, with a three-lobed upper lip. 5 pairs of gill arches and 4 pairs of gill openings are covered by a fold of skin, which is supported by finger-like cartilages. The sprinkler disappears on early stages development. The pterygopodia of males, to one degree or another, are equipped with placoid denticles, in the form of solid formations, bipartite or even tripartite. In addition to pterygopodia, males develop special organs supported by a cartilaginous skeleton and armed with strong spines. These are the so-called “holders” (tenacula), which serve to hold the female during copulation. They are represented by an unpaired frontal appendage and paired abdominal ones. The naked body is covered with abundant mucus. Placoid scales (“skin teeth”), covering the body of some extinct whole-headed animals and characteristic of elasmobranchs, are preserved in living chimaeras, as a rule, only in connection with functional specialization on pterygopodia and male holders and are transformed into the spine of the anterior dorsal fin and small rings that enclose the bed of the channels of the “lateral line” system. In some species, these formations in the form of denticles are also preserved on the back.

Chimaeras are predominantly deep-sea bottom-dwelling fish that inhabit the shelf and slope of continental shallows at depths ranging from several meters to 2500 m in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Absent in Northern Arctic Ocean and in Antarctic waters. Not recorded in our waters. Reach a length of 60 cm up to 2 m. Females are larger than males.

While not fast swimmers, chimaeras move due to the eel-like bending of the tail of the body and the wave-like movement of the pectoral fins. In this case, the pelvic fins, which play the role of stabilizers, are arranged in a horizontal plane. They are more active at night, and even shallow-water forms, judging by aquarium observations, do not like bright light. Resting on the bottom, they rest on the tips of paired fins and on the tail. The fish are very gentle, offer almost no resistance when caught and quickly die out of water. They do not take root well in an aquarium.

They breathe with their mouths closed, as they pump water to the gills through the nostrils, which communicate with the oral cavity.

They feed mainly on bottom invertebrates (molluscs, crabs, brittle stars and sea urchins), occasionally found in their stomachs small fish. Food is not swallowed whole, but is bitten off in small pieces or crushed by powerful dental plates.

Fertilization is internal; carried out using pterygopodia. Each female ovary contains up to 100 eggs, but only 2 large eggs mature and are laid at the same time, each of which is enclosed in a huge horny capsule 12-42 in length cm. Capsules are deposited directly on the ground or attached to stones and algae. The incubation of the embryo lasts 9-12 months, in which a bundle of long external gill filaments develops on each side. Apparently, the yolk is absorbed through these gills, most of which is located outside the yolk sac. By the time the embryo emerges from the capsule, the external gills disappear, and the babies are similar in appearance to their parents.

Chimaeras are schooling fish, at least shallow-water species. Caught in the USA (Pacific coast), Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and China. In two recent countries the meat of chimaeras is used for food. In some places, the oil extracted from the liver of these fish is highly valued, used as a medicine and as an excellent lubricant.

The extinct representatives of the order, comprising 13 families, are known from the Lower Jurassic, and the modern genera Chimaera and Callorhinchus are known from the Upper Cretaceous. About 30 living species belong to three closely related families.

Family Chimaeridae

This family is characterized by a blunt snout, bifid or tripartite pterygopodia in males, and other characters. Some species have a venom gland at the base of the dorsal spine. The family includes 21-22 species classified into two genera: in the genus Chimaera the anal fin is separate from the caudal fin, and in the genus Hydrolagus these fins are completely fused.

Genus Chimeras(Chimaera) includes 6 species. Of these, the most famous European chimera(Chimaera monstrosa), found in the Eastern Atlantic from Iceland and Norway to Mediterranean Sea and off the coast South Africa(absent in tropical waters). In the Barents Sea it is common up to Finnmarken and only occasionally enters the Varanger Fjord. Reaches a length of 1.5 m.

The back is colored in reddish-brown tones, the silvery sides are dotted with yellowish-brown spots, and a blackish-brown border runs along the edge of the caudal and dorsal fins.

In the north it is most common at depths of 200-500 m, and in the south (off the coast of Morocco) - at depths of 350-700 m. In winter it approaches the shores; in the Norwegian fjords it is caught at this time at a depth of 90-180 m. Usually single individuals are caught in a trawl, but in the spring off Northwestern Norway several dozen specimens are often caught in one trawling. Lays eggs all year round, excluding autumn months. The egg capsule is fusiform, 15-18 long cm, with a characteristic strongly elongated and thin anterior end. Chimeras are not eaten. Liver fat has long been famous for its healing properties, especially when lubricating wounds and abrasions.

Cuban chimera(Ch. cubana), which was previously mistaken for a European chimera, is known from the coast of Cuba from a depth of 400-500 m. Other species of the genus are recorded in the waters of Japan, in the Yellow Sea and off the Philippine Islands.

Genus Hydrolags(Hydrolagus) contains 15-16 species: 3 species are known from the North Atlantic, 4-5 species from the waters of Japan, 3 species from the waters of Australia and one species each from South Africa, New Zealand, the Philippines, Hawaii and the North -west coast of North America.

Best studied American hydrolag(N. colliei), living at depths of 40-60 m along the American coast from Baja California to Western Alaska. It is somewhat smaller than the European chimera. In some places it is found in such abundance that it fills trawls to the limit. It breeds all year round, but the most intensive reproduction occurs in August - September. Aquarium observations have shown that the release of horny egg capsules lasts up to 30 hours, after which the female drags the capsules suspended on elastic (attachment) threads for several days until the threads break and the capsules end up on the ground. Mature oocytes reach 2 cm in diameter. Not used for food. Liver fat is used in some areas of Canada to clean guns, and in Lately is increasingly used as an excellent lubricant for parts in precision instruments.

Family Rhinochimaeridae, or Nosed chimeras (Rhinochimaeridae)

Fishes of this family are distinguished by a highly elongated pointed snout and solid pterygopodia in males. Nosed chimeras, numbering 3 genera, are the deepest representatives of the order, inhabiting the lower part of the shelf and the continental slope. As a result, they are known from a small number of finds, and the biology of representatives of this family has not been studied at all.

Genus Garriott(Harriotta) is represented by one species (N. raleighana), known from depths of 700-2500 m from the North Atlantic and from the waters of Japan and California. Apparently, the harriota also lives in Indian Ocean, from which a germ capsule presumably belonging to this species is known. Painted in a smooth chocolate brown color.

By the time they emerge from the capsule, the embryos reach a length of 15 cm, and the largest of the caught females was 99 in length cm.

Neo-Garriote(Neoharriotta pinnata) noted off West Africa at a depth of 220-470 m, and from Caribbean Sea from a depth of 360-550 m Neoharriotta carri is known. Genus Nosed chimera(Rhinochimaera), which gives the family its name, is known from two species: R. atlantica (North Atlantic) and R. pacifica (Japan).

Family Callorhynchidae, or Proboscis-snouted chimeras (Callorhinchidae)

The proboscis chimera family is represented by only one genus Callorhynchus(Callorhinchus), which is remarkable in that the front part of its snout is elongated into a kind of trunk, strongly compressed from the sides, the end of which is sharply bent back and bears a transverse leaf-shaped blade. It is assumed that this organ, shaped like a plow or, rather, a hoe, serves both as a locator and as a shovel, and that a fish hovering above the bottom with its help, like a mine detector, can detect invertebrate animals buried in the ground, and with its help help dig them out. Tail without threadlike continuation; its axis is slightly curved upward, and the lower lobe of the caudal fin in front is much higher than its upper lobe (i.e., the tail is heterocercal). The short anal fin is separated from the caudal fin by a deep notch, and the dorsal fins are widely spaced. The spinal column is devoid of calcified rings surrounding the notochord. Pterygopodia of males are in the form of solid rods, without club-shaped swellings at the ends. The abdominal “holders” are spoon-shaped, with multi-vertex teeth along the inner edge, the openings of their pockets are directed along the body. The same pockets, but smaller, are also found in females.

Representatives of the genus Callorhynchus live only in temperate and moderately cold waters of the southern hemisphere - off the coast South America(from Southern Brazil and Peru to Tierra del Fuego), South Africa, South Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. The question of the number of species in this genus has not yet been resolved. Some researchers tend to distinguish 3-4 species, while others consider them to be geographical populations of the same species, Callorhinchus callorhinchus. Callorhynchus often reaches more than a meter in length and weighs up to 10 kg. They are colored greenish-yellow, with three black stripes along the sides of the body. Apparently, thanks to the special light-refracting properties of the mucus covering their body, freshly caught callorhynchus shimmer with such a rich range of silvery-rainbow shades that no image can convey it. color photography. Usually caught at depths of 5-50 m. In Tasmania, large schools of these fish often enter shallow bays and even rivers. With the onset of cold weather they descend to depths of up to 200 m and more. Females lay huge germ capsules ranging in length from 17 to 42 cm.

In New Zealand it is caught in quite large quantities and is used as food. Fresh callorhynchus meat is excellent taste qualities, but as soon as it sits for a little while, it begins to give off an ammonia smell (a feature, by the way, that is also characteristic of shark meat).