Subject: Chimaeridae
Tag: Fish
Date 1877
Source/Photographer English: Couch, Jonathan (1877) History of the Fishes of the British Islands, London: George Bell & Sons
Artist Jonathan Couch (1789–1870)
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FMIB_46064_Arctic_Chimaera.jpeg
The rabbit fish or rat fish (Chimaera monstrosa) is a cartilaginous fish species that belongs to the family Chimaeridae. It is found in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. The rabbit fish is known for its characteristically large head and small, tapering body. With large eyes, nostrils, and tooth plates, the head gives them a rabbit-like appearance, hence the nickname “Rabbit fish”. The rabbit fishes can grow up to 1.5 meters long and weigh up to 2.5 kg. The rabbit fish feeds mainly on bottom-living invertebrates.
