Rabbit fish

Seekatze ( Chimaera monstrosa )

The Sea Cat ( Chimaera monstrosa ) is a species in the family of short nose chimaeras ( Chimaeridae ). It was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus; its scientific name is derived from the chimera of Greek mythology. There, the term describes a being that is composed of different parts of the body of lion, goat and serpent. The eyes that are reminiscent of a cat that rodent -like teeth and a long dragon-like tail suggested to Linnaeus to this designation.

Features

The catfish is a maximum, including the usually incomplete tail thread, 1.5 meters long and reaches a maximum weight of 2.5 kg. One of the dorsal fin of preceding sting is sharp and slightly toxic. It can cause painful wounds. On the forehead of the males is a frontal process, which presumably serves to hold the female during mating.

Dissemination

The Seekatze happens to Morocco, the Azores and Madeira in the northeastern Atlantic, from Norway and Iceland. Also in the Skagerrak, Kattegat and the Mediterranean it is found there but it is rare in the eastern part. Reports of occurrence on the coast of South Africa and Japan are questionable.

Way of life

Chimaeras live, usually in small groups, in depths of 40 up to 1000 meter, usually between 300 and 500 meters above the upper regions of the continental slopes. Populations in the south adhere to, especially in deeper water that migrate to the north in summer at depths of 40 to 100 meters. They feed mainly on bottom-dwelling invertebrates, such as crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms and small fish. Chimaeras put spindle-shaped egg capsules that are 16 to 18 inches long and 3 inches wide. At the pointed end of the egg capsule is a three to four centimeters long thread which serves to anchor to the ground. The boys are ten to eleven inches long at hatching and even the same adult animals.