Other Definitions
chimaera (dict)
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Chimaera | Chimaera |
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Ratfish | | |
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Callorhynchidae
Rhinochimaeridae
Chimaeridae | - Other meanings, based on a fantastic animal, are at Chimera
Chimaera is the common name of the species in the families Callorhynchidae, Rhinochimaeridae and Chimaeridae which all are closely related to sharks; they are also called ghost sharks. Chimaeras live in temperate ocean floors and grow to be up to 2 meters. As all members of the chondrichthyes class, chimaeras have a cartilage instead of a skeleton. The skin is smooth and lacks scales, and its color can range from black to brownish gray. For defense, the chimaera has a poisonous spine located in front of its dorsal fin. Chimaeras resemble sharks in some ways: they employ claspers for internal fertilization of females and they lay eggs with leathery cases. They differ from sharks in that their upper jaw is fused with the skull; they also have separate anal and urogenital openings.
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