Longspine chimaera facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Longspine chimaera |
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Chimaeridae
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C. macrospina
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| Binomial name | |
| Chimaera macrospina Didier, Last & White, 2008
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The longspine chimaera (Chimaera macrospina) is a unique type of fish. It belongs to the Chimaeridae family. You can find this interesting creature near the eastern and western coasts of Australia. It lives in warm, tropical, and milder temperate waters. This fish prefers deep parts of the ocean, usually between 435 and 1,300 meters down. Male longspine chimaeras can grow up to about 93.9 centimeters long. Females are a bit larger, reaching around 103.4 centimeters. Both males and females are brown.
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What Does the Longspine Chimaera Look Like?
The longspine chimaera has a brown body. Its skin is described as "deciduous," which means it can shed easily. Male longspine chimaeras have special parts called claspers. These are short, making up about 11-13% of their total body length. Females are generally longer than males.
Where Does the Longspine Chimaera Live?
The longspine chimaera lives only in the waters around Australia. On the west coast, it can be found in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean. On the east coast, it lives in the western Pacific Ocean. This fish is native to areas like New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. There was one sighting near Tasmania, south of Victoria, back in 1988.
Is the Longspine Chimaera in Danger?
We don't know exactly how many longspine chimaeras there are. However, this species is not severely threatened. People do not fish for the longspine chimaera on purpose. Sometimes, it gets caught by accident in deep-water fishing nets called trawls. Most fishing boats that operate where this fish lives usually fish in shallower waters. This means they don't often reach the longspine chimaera's usual deep habitat.
However, some fisheries, like the Western Deepwater Trawl Fishery and the Coral Sea Fishery in Australia, do fish in deeper waters. These areas sometimes overlap with where the longspine chimaera lives. This could be a small threat to the species. As of February 2015, the IUCN lists the longspine chimaera as "Least Concern." This means it is not currently at high risk of extinction. There are no special conservation efforts happening for this species right now.
Behavior and Habitat
The longspine chimaera is a marine species, meaning it lives in the ocean. It prefers tropical and warmer temperate waters. While it can live as shallow as 435 meters, it is most often found in waters between 800 and 1,300 meters deep.
How Does the Longspine Chimaera Reproduce?
Like all species in its group, the Chimaeriformes, the longspine chimaera is oviparous. This means that the females lay eggs. Beyond this, scientists don't know many other specific biological facts about the longspine chimaera.
