Dark Chimaera

Hydrolagus novaezealandiae

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth125–495 m
Water temperature8–18 °C
Best monthsMarch, June, and July
How commonCommon

Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

The dark ghostshark is a shortnose chimaera of the family Chimaeridae, found on the continental shelf around the South Island of New Zealand. In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the dark ghostshark as "Not Threatened" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Dark ghostshark”, 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: 2 records
February: 0 records
March: 4 records
April: 0 records
May: 1 records
June: 3 records
July: 3 records
August: 2 records
September: 1 records
October: 2 records
November: 0 records
December: 2 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 125–495 m · Deepest record: 1,245 m

10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 7 records
50–60 m: 6 records
60–70 m: 24 records
70–80 m: 34 records
80–90 m: 51 records
90–100 m: 67 records
100–110 m: 97 records
110–120 m: 137 records
120+ m: 4,456 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–18 °C

6–8 °C: 3 records
8–10 °C: 82 records
10–12 °C: 205 records
12–14 °C: 429 records
14–16 °C: 176 records
16–18 °C: 97 records
18–20 °C: 3 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Dark Chimaera, Dark Ghostshark

Names in 1 more languages

German: Neuseeland-Seekatze

Other scientific names: Chimaera australis, Chimaera novaezealandiae, Chimaera novae-zealandiae, Hydrolagus novaezelandiae

Similar species

Ratfish
Hydrolagus colliei
Pale Brown Chimaera
Hydrolagus bemisi
African chimaera
Hydrolagus africanus
Black Chimaera
Hydrolagus 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).
5,215 open-data records from 1966 to 2018.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist