African chimaera
Hydrolagus africanus
- Usual depth434–739 m
- Water temperature17–29 °C
- Best monthsJanuary and February
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Sileeshm, einige Rechte vorbehalten (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
The African chimaera is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae found near Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitat is deep-waters up to the depth of 750 m Eight species of chimaera are found in the southern African region, representing the three families and all six genera.
Text from the Wikipedia article “African chimaera”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 46 records
- February: 30 records
- March: 3 records
- April: 12 records
- May: 6 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 20 records
- August: 7 records
- September: 6 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 1 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 434–739 m · Deepest record: 1,200 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 17–29 °C
Photos
(c) Sileeshm, einige Rechte vorbehalten (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- African chimaera
Names in 2 more languages
- German
- Afrikanische Chimäre
- Spanish
- Quimera Africana
Other scientific names: Chimaera africana
Similar species
RatfishHydrolagus colliei
Dark ChimaeraHydrolagus novaezealandiae
- Pale Brown Chimaera
Hydrolagus bemisi
Black ChimaeraHydrolagus homonycteris
- Philippine Chimaera
Hydrolagus deani
- Marbled Ghostshark
Hydrolagus marmoratus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 140 open-data records from 1920 to 2015.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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