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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 01/14/2006 : 09:47:20
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What fish is this
It's one of the chimeras, and that was so easy it was no fun.
I'm having a slow day, today.......
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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trogdor
Skeptic Friend
198 Posts |
 Posted - 01/14/2006 : 12:04:32 [Permalink]
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another living fossil? that would be sweet!
but the article that you linked to says that these chimeras were toothless.
quote:
The fossil remains of this ancestral ratfish are represented by its bony toothless jaws and jaw fragments, dorsal fin spines, and cephalic hooks.
the first picture clearly shows teeth. |
all eyes were on Ford Prefect. some of them were on stalks.
-Douglas Adams |
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GeeMack
SFN Regular
USA
1093 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2006 : 12:35:26 [Permalink]
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I'm still trying to find more details, but it looks like the chimeras, closely related to the sharks and rays, don't have scales.quote:
About: Chimaera...
[The chimera is a] cartilaginous marine fish, related to the sharks. Also called ratfishes, chimaeras are found in temperate oceans throughout the world, mostly in deep water. They have large heads, long, thin, ratlike tails, and large, fanlike pectoral fins. In many species there is a poison spine in front of the first dorsal fin. Their slippery skins are black, gray, or silver, often with stripes or spots.
I'm voting against chimaera. I wonder if filthy is just putting us to the test with this piece o' fishcake of his. 
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2006 : 13:48:02 [Permalink]
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Nope, as long as it laid out in the sun, and foul as it looks, it's a chimera. Like sharks and rays, there's lots of species. At first, I thought it might be this one, as it ranges throughout the Atlantic, but I'm not so sure. It might be a deep sea species or an entirely new one altogether. But a chimera never the less.
Or a fake.... Can't entirely rule that out and the photos don't really tell as much as might be ideal. And, while April First is still a goodish way out, some people, like to get an early start.
The ratfish is a Pacfic species, and the reason I used it was simply because I was lazy and that was the first coherent article I came across.
Edit: Chimeras are toothless rather in the way most boney fishes are. As this one has laid out in the sun for an extended time, the tissues on the lips have shrunken and the remaining 'teeth' have become prominent.
O'course, I am always open to correction and enlightenment. 
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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| Edited by - filthy on 01/14/2006 13:54:53 |
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