The Cellar - 3/5/2004: Long-nosed chimaera

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3/5/2004: Long-nosed chimaera

http://cellar.org/2004/longnosedchimaera.jpg

Lurker geodog (hah! you're outed, sir) sent this along, and then petecart followed it up with a page full of similar images, which I won't reveal only because you'll enjoy it more spat out at you piece by piece. This is described as a "long-nosed chimaera".

What a chimaera is, exactly, is not explained. The picture doesn't really help.

And it makes you think - what the hell were all those scientists thinking, when they gave names to various things? Googling around, one web site says "chimaera" is an ancient Chinese MYTHICAL creature, made up of one part lion, one part goat, and one part serpent.

Now if only to sidebar further, why did people of ancient times have to come up with weird combo creatures? A plain old lion is frightening enough. I don't think it gets worse if you mix in a goat. "Oh my God, a LION! But he's got weird square eyes..."

So did they name this beast "chimaera" out of some mythological guide, or is it in an AD&D manual somewhere? In any case, this is the first in a series of items from the deep deep ocean, where it turns out there are a whole bunch of the most eerie, frightening living things we've ever known.

And happy Friday. Buhahahaha!

I see that it comes equipped with one of those center top-mounted, European-style radio antennae that are so popular these days amongst car designers.

Yea I paticularly like the images that are on this page:

http://www.comp.utas.edu.au/students...aina/auv/fish/

Look familiar?

Well that's the series.

This has been my favorite fish, ever since I saw it in the World Book Encyclopedia...http://www.comp.utas.edu.au/students...s/image082.jpg

It doesn't matter how ugly that thing is, there are folks in Southern Louisiana who would happily fry it up and eat it.

Quote:

Originally posted by Nothing But Net
It doesn't matter how ugly that thing is, there are folks in Southern Louisiana who would happily fry it up and eat it.

If the revenuer is good enough for the gumbo pot why not some funny looking fish?

Pass the Zatarain's Thibedeaux!

That chimaera looks like an prehistoric form of duck bill platypus.
Its kinda cute, in a slimy sort of way.

Here is a little more information from the Australian National Oceans Office website :

Quote:

This species occurs in the South Pacific and off Japan , at depths 700-1300 m. It reaches 1.2 m long. This genus of deep-sea chimaeras goes under different names in different countries. In the USA it is known as a Long-nosed Chimaera while in Europe they use the common name Cyrano Chimaera, named after the fictional French character Cyrano de Bergerac, who had a very long nose. This strange cartilaginous fish uses its long snout to scan over the seafloor for the electrical impulses of its prey that bury in the muddy seafloor, just like a metal detector. Like other chimaeras (such as ghost and elephant sharks), these animals lay horny egg cases in which their young are left to develop, potentially for up to one year.

Back to lurking.

Welcome to the Cellar, Geodog. Thanks for the post, I've never seen that stuff, while sober, before.:)

I have to confess, at first glance I read this thread title as "long-nosed camera."

Seems reminiscent of the Alien movies ... when deep sea exploration and settlement happens, maybe there will be sea monsters like in episode 1 on naboo... I sound like such a geek. :D

Re: 3/5/2004: Long-nosed chimaera

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
And it makes you think - what the hell were all those scientists thinking, when they gave names to various things? Googling around, one web site says "chimaera" is an ancient Chinese MYTHICAL creature, made up of one part lion, one part goat, and one part serpent.

Actually, it's Greek

Y'know, it's only from the lessons of the original Star Trek series that we don't shove hot lead into the mouths of weird-ass beasties like that, and prefer to capture them and study them for scientific purposes.

"Study them for scientific purposes" means, see if the make good sushi, right? That's why that Chimera is on a cutting board.