The function of these appendages is not known, but they are thought to play a role in courtship. Chimaera definition: any tapering smooth-skinned cartilaginous deep-sea fish of the subclass Holocephali (or. Also known as 'Gourmet Ants' (, Gurume Anto) due to carefully selecting their food, they have voracious appetites and can consume several times their own weight within a single day. A distinctive feature of chimaeras is the presence of extra claspers in the male, one in front of each pelvic fin and a prominent one on the forehead. Chimera Ants ( or ()()()()()()()()()(), Kimera Anto) are extremely dangerous insects designated quarantine level one. However, they resemble the bony fishes in having the upper jaw fused to the skull, the gill slits opening into a single chamber, a bony covering, or operculum, over the gill slits, and separate anal and urogenital openings. Chimaeras resemble sharks in certain fundamental respects: They have cartilage skeletons, males have claspers for internal fertilization of females, and females lay eggs encased in leathery cases. The largest reach a length of about 61-2 ft (2 m). Their slippery skins are black, gray, or silver, often with stripes or spots. Chimaera, (subclass Holocephali), also spelled chimera, also called ghost shark, any of numerous cartilaginous fishes related to sharks and rays in the. In many species there is a poison spine in front of the first dorsal fin. They have large heads, long, thin, ratlike tails, and large, fanlike pectoral fins. Also called ratfishes, chimaeras are found in temperate oceans throughout the world, mostly in deep water. Chimaeras live deep within the ocean in depths of under 100 meters. Chimaera (kĭmērˈə), cartilaginous marine fish, related to the sharks. The Chimaera Fish are an ancient group of cartilaginous fish closely related to sharks.

Chimera fish