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

Comparison of the structures of AR T4–lysozyme chimaera with that of the thermostabilized or antibody-bound ARs shows that fusion of the lysozyme distorts the cytoplasmic sides of TM5 and TM6.

From Nature • Feb. 13, 2013

Guarded," he said, "though the Palace of Illusion was by every species of hippogriffic chimaera, my bride and I experienced no difficulty in penetrating inside its precincts.

From The Twilight of the Gods, and Other Tales by Garnett, Richard