AnimalvsAnimal
12499686 Chimaera monstrosa🐟

Photo: Viktor V. Grøtan · CC BY 4.0

SpeciesChimaeriformesChimaeridae
Fish

🐟Rabbit fish

Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758

Chimaera monstrosa, commonly known as the rabbit fish or rat fish, is a northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean species of cartilaginous fish in the family Chimaeridae. 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". They can grow to 1.5 metres (5 ft) and live for up to 30 years.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Measurements
8
vs you
≈ 1/45th of your weight
Also called
Chimaera monstrosa, Rabbitfish, rat fish
Conservation status
VUVulnerable

IUCN Red List assessment, 2020.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
1.38 kg
Body length
1.5 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
29 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Rabbit fish

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
1.38 kgrecord 2.5 kg · FishBase
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Body length
1.5 mmaximum recorded
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Maximum lifespan
29 years
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Litter size
about 22
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Trophic level
3.75
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0

Diet
carnivoreaverage
Details ↓

From trophic level 3.75 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.

Danger to humans
traumatogenic
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Volume l
1.4 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Rabbit fish yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classHolocephali
  4. ›orderChimaeriformes
  5. ›familyChimaeridae
  6. ›genusChimaera
  7. ›speciesChimaera monstrosa
Full lineage
  1. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  2. subclassHolocephali
  3. orderChimaeriformes
  4. familyChimaeridae
All 9 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  7. subclassHolocephali
  8. orderChimaeriformes
  9. familyChimaeridae
More

More about the Rabbit fish

In other languages
Chimaera monstrosa (es), Chimaera monstrosa (it), chiméra podivná (cs), Havmus (da), Seekatze (de), sillikuningas (fi) … and 19 more languages
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