chimaera

American  

[ki-meer-uh, kahy-] / kɪˈmɪər ə, kaɪ- /

noun

1. any fish of the family Chimaeridae, the male of which has a spiny clasping organ over the mouth.

2. any similar fish of the group Holocephali, which includes this family.

3. chimera.

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chimaera British  

/ kaɪˈmɪərə, kɪ- /

noun

1. any tapering smooth-skinned cartilaginous deep-sea fish of the subclass Holocephali (or Bradyodonti ), esp any of the genus Chimaera. They have a skull in which the upper jaw is fused to the cranium See also rabbitfish

2. Greek myth a variant spelling of chimera

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Etymology

Origin of chimaera

First recorded in 1795–1805; see origin at chimera

Example Sentences

Ghost sharks - also known as chimaera - are rarely spotted, and sightings of their young are even more uncommon.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2022

“They literally look like a fish put together by a committee,” says chimaera expert David A. Ebert, director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California.

From National Geographic • Jun. 12, 2017

“On the video camera we saw a kind of chimaera that whizzed by – that’s very, very rare in Australian waters,” she said.

From The Guardian • May 31, 2017

The chimaera infected human airway cells — proving that the surface protein of SHC014 has the necessary structure to bind to a key receptor on the cells and to infect them.

From Nature • Nov. 11, 2015

Another instance is afforded by the chimaera, the solution of which enigma, as given by Ovid, is so fully substantiated by the very intelligent British officer who surveyed the Caramania a few years since.

From Thaumaturgia by Oxonian, An