Paddlenose Chimaera

This species is distinguished by the following characters: elongate body with an elongate, broad and paddle-shaped pointed snout extending anterior to head (SNL 47.7% HDL), tapering to a slender tail; the junction of supraorbital and infraorbital canals on ventral side of snout is closer to the tip of the snout than to the nasal canal; ONC/TIO is greater than 1.4 (ONC/TIO= 1.64); TIO/SWF is less than 1.5 (TIO/SWF= 1.47); TIO/LNC is less than 3.0 (TIO/LNC= 2.75); tooth-plates are nearly smooth; eyes are relatively small (EYL 6.4% BDL), distinctly behind level of mouth; the first and second dorsal fins are separated by a relatively long interdorsal space (IDS 23.6% BDL) and not connected by a web of skin; caudal-fin axis weakly raised with the fin asymmetrical, the epaxial caudal-fin lobe narrower than hypaxial lobe; dorsal caudal tubercles 25; caudal filament vestigial; coloration uniformly dark brown across entire body, except the oronasal region which is abruptly paler than the body (Ref. 97389).

Oviparous (Ref. 205).

Rare (Ref. 11228). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs are encased in horny shells (Ref. 205).

The paddlenose chimaera or paddlenose spookfish (Rhinochimaera africana) is a species of fish in the family Rhinochimaeridae found near China, Japan, Mozambique, South Africa, and Taiwan. Its natural habitat is open seas. It is threatened by habitat loss.