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Pointy-nosed Blue Chimaera
Hydrolagus trolli
The pointy-nosed blue chimaera (Hydrolagus trolli), also known as the pointy-nosed blue ratfish, Ray Troll's chimaera or abyssal ghostshark, is a species of deep-sea fish in the family Chimaeridae.
From the article Pointy-nosed blue chimaera on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The body has distinctive blue-gray coloration. A dark line is seen around the orbit, as well as dark shadowing along edges of lateral line canals. The snout is pointed. It grows to 120 cm (47 in) total length. It also has a venomous spine in front of its dorsal fin, which is used in defense. Females mature around 55 cm (22 in) in body length and males at 60–65 cm (24–26 in). The species is oviparous.
Range & habitat
This species is found in the Pacific and Southern Oceans, with records from near New Caledonia, New Zealand, and southern Australia; records from South Africa refer to other species. It is a deep-water species that has been recorded on deep continental and insular slopes at depths between 610 and 2,000 metres (2,000 and 6,560 ft), but more commonly below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Specimens provisionally assigned to this species have also been seen in waters near California and Hawaii, alive, in 2009. As with many other deep-sea species, its distribution likely covers much of the globe, but is poorly known. However, this species of Chimaeridae was the first to have been captured on film, leading to further insight on it.
Wikipedia: “Distribution and habitat”
In human culture
The specific name trolli honors Ray Troll, an American artist who has featured chimaeras in his art.
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Hydrolagus trolli in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 103043.