Silver chimaera

Silver chimaera
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Holocephali
Order:	Chimaeriformes
Family:	Chimaeridae
Genus:	Chimaera
Species:	C. phantasma
Binomial name
Chimaera phantasma D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1900
Synonyms
Chimaera pseudomonstrosa Fang & Wang, 1932

The silver chimaera (Chimaera phantasma) is a species of fish in the family Chimaeridae found near Australia, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is open seas.

Silver chimaera got its name for the string patterns on the surface of its body, like a monster sewed up by different animal parts, referring to a Greek mythic creature named chimaera (mythology), which combined lion with the snake and goat. One of the fascinating features of Silver Chimaera is its teeth. Teeth are actually the skin derivatives, not just refer to hard stuff inside the mouth. As for Chimaera fish, the male fish has three kinds of teeth, which grow by different organs respectively.

Tabular tooth, growing inside the mouth, like pufferfish, for smashing the creatures with shells (shellfish and crab)

Hook tooth, growing on its head, there is a little jaw on male's head, which is believed to fix the male on the female while mating

Blade tooth, growing by cloaca, is believed to be used to cut the special organ off from the female after mating