Harriotta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harriotta
Harriotta raleighana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Order:	Chimaeriformes
Family:	Rhinochimaeridae
Genus:	Harriotta Goode & T. H. Bean, 1895

Harriotta is a group of amazing deep-sea fish. They are a genus of cartilaginous fish, which means their skeletons are made of tough, flexible cartilage instead of bone. They belong to the family Rhinochimaeridae, often called longnose chimaeras.

These unique fish have many interesting common names. People sometimes call them bentnose rabbitfish, bigspine spookfish, longnose chimaera, or narrownose chimaera. Their long, pointed snouts and large eyes help them find food in the dark ocean depths.

Where Harriotta Live

Harriotta fish live in the very deep parts of the ocean. You can find them on the slopes of continents, far below where sunlight reaches. They live in waters that are about 380 to 2,600 meters (about 1,250 to 8,500 feet) deep. That's super deep!

These fish are found in many different oceans around the world. They swim in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. You can also find them in the Indian Ocean, especially near southern Australia. They are quite common in the northern Atlantic, the northwest Pacific, and the southwest Pacific Oceans.

Types of Harriotta Fish

The Harriotta genus includes a few different species, some of which are still alive today and one that is only known from fossils.

Here are some of the known species:

• Harriotta haeckeli (smallspine spookfish): This species was first described by Christine Karrer in 1972.
• †Harriotta lehmani: This is an extinct species, meaning it no longer exists today. It was discovered and named by Werdelin in 1986. The dagger symbol (†) tells us it's extinct.
• Harriotta raleighana (narrownose chimaera): This fish was first described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1895. It's one of the most well-known species in the group.