Rabbit fish
Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758
The rabbit fish (Chimaera monstrosa) is a fish in the family Chimaeridae, order Chimaeriformes and class Holocephali. It is also called Rat fish, Rabbitfish or Rabbit-fish, and its scientific name was given by Linnaeus, 1758.
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Quick facts about the rabbit fish
The IUCN Red List global assessment lists it as Vulnerable (VU), a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 1.5 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 30 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Age at maturity
- 11.2 years – 13.4 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the rabbit fish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the rabbit fish live?
Not recorded
What is the rabbit fish?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Rabbit fish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rabbit_fish&oldid=1381286478), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the rabbit fish endangered?
The rabbit fish is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the rabbit fish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classHolocephali
- orderChimaeriformes
- familyChimaeridae
- genusChimaera
- SpeciesChimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Chimaera arctica, Chimaera argentea, Chimaera borealis, Chimaera cristata, Chimaera dubia, Chimaera mediterranea, Chimera monstrosa
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- Rabbit-fishEnglish
- RabbitfishEnglish
- Rat fishEnglish
- Rat fishEnglish
- pexerratónAsturian
- razhBreton
- chiméra podivnáCzech
- cwningen fôrWelsh
- Cwningod MôrWelsh
- havmusDanish
- Europæisk havmusDanish
- SeekatzeGerman
- SeeratteGerman
- ΧίμαιραGreek
- GatoSpanish
- quimeraSpanish
- SillikuningasFinnish
- chimèreFrench
- Chimère CommunFrench
- chimère communeFrench
- Chimère monstrueuseFrench
- roi de harengsFrench
- roi des harengsFrench
- כימרהHebrew
- Čudnovati morski štakorCroatian
- GeirnytIcelandic
- ChimeraItalian
- europinė chimeraLithuanian
- havmusNorwegian Bokmål
- hågyllingNorwegian Bokmål
- spælstrenghyseNorwegian Bokmål
- ratjeDutch
- draakvisDutch
- gewone draakvisDutch
- havmusNorwegian Nynorsk
- gullhåNorwegian Nynorsk
- levremusNorwegian Nynorsk
- przerazaPolish
- Chimera (ryba)Polish
- chimera pospolitaPolish
- Европейская химераRussian
- химера европейскаяRussian
- morska podganaSlovenian
- peshku lepurAlbanian
- havsmusSwedish
- sican baligiTurkish
- sıçan balığıTurkish
- tavsan baligiTurkish
- tavşan balığıTurkish
- Європейська химераUkrainian
- Химера європейськаUkrainian
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the rabbit fish
Other species in the same genus Chimaera.
Silver chimaera
Chimaera phantasma
Chimaera
Chimaera cubana
Jordan's chimaera
Chimaera jordani
Leopard chimaera
Chimaera panthera
Whitefin chimaera
Chimaera argiloba
Owston's chimaera
Chimaera owstoni
CompareRabbit fish vs Silver chimaeraRabbit fish vs ChimaeraRabbit fish vs Jordan's chimaeraRabbit fish vs Leopard chimaera
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the rabbit fish?
The rabbit fish is a fish in the family Chimaeridae, order Chimaeriformes, class Holocephali.
What is the scientific name of the rabbit fish?
Its scientific name is Chimaera monstrosa, in the genus Chimaera.
Who named Chimaera monstrosa?
Chimaera monstrosa was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Is the rabbit fish endangered?
The rabbit fish is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is a threatened category.
What other names does the rabbit fish have?
It is also called Rat fish, Rabbitfish and Rabbit-fish.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits · CC BY 4.0 · 1.0-2022-06-17
Mull, C.G., Pacoureau, N., Pardo, S.A. et al. (2022) Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits and abundance time-series. Scientific Data 9: 559. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01655-1. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6656525 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rabbit fish (Chimaera monstrosa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rabbit-fish
“Rabbit fish (Chimaera monstrosa).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rabbit-fish.
@misc{rabbit_fish_2026,
title = {Rabbit fish (Chimaera monstrosa)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rabbit-fish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}