Sea hares, who are they?

On the shelves of Russia, a fish called "sea rabbit" or "sea hare" began to appear more and more often (you can see the photo in this article). Most often it is sold without a head, and many people have the question: "How does this fish actually look like?" It should be noted right away that sea hares are not only fish, but also seal representatives. But here we are talking about fish.

Sea hares are nothing more than a European chimera. This is the bottom deep sea fish, which belongs to the subclass of cartilaginous collagen or whole-cell fish. To date, there is one detachment of Chimaeriformes (chimera-shaped). They inhabit the shelves and slopes of the continental shelf at a depth of up to 2,5 thousand meters in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. From Norway and Iceland to the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barents Sea and off the coast of South Africa, there are sea hares.

Chimeras are though distant, but relatives of modern sharks. Sometimes they are called "shark-ghosts". In ancient times, these representatives of the oceans had common ancestors, but approximately 400 million years ago they were divided into 2 orders. Some began to dwell near the water surface, while others fell to the depths and eventually acquired the face of a modern chimera.

Sea hares in length usually do not exceed 1.5 meters, while half is a long and thin tail. Their dorsal fins begin from the middle of the back and end at the tip of the tail. In general, fins of this fish are very similar to wings, and therefore it seems that they do not swim, but fly. In front of the fin, the fish of the sea hare (the photo clearly shows it) has poisonous spikes, which perfectly protect them from enemies. But it must be said that the chimeras do not have much. Their main enemies are the large, gluttonous females of indiacants. A greater danger threatens young representatives of sea hares and comes from their now distant relatives - sharks. In chimeras, skin color can range from gray to almost black. There may be contrasting large spots.

The sea hares themselves hunt, like other inhabitants of the depth, to the touch. The only attribute to attract mining is the sensitive side line. Curious mollusks, worms, crayfish, echinoderms and small fishes aspire to it. But such curiosity in most cases ends in the jaws of the chimera. And its strong jaws with 3 rows of very strong teeth can easily split even the most hard shells.

Due to the habitat of these fish, it is very difficult to study them. Therefore, not so much is known about their ways of hunting, reproduction and habits. They practice internal insemination. They multiply with the help of eggs. During this period in the ovaries females find them in large numbers and with varying degrees of development. The most mature of them are clad in a cornea.

Until the early twentieth century, sea hares were not of commercial importance. Firstly, it is very difficult to extract them. And secondly, chimera meat was considered inedible, and even today it is not pleasant for everyone. Although, probably, it must be able to properly cook. In medicine, the fat extracted from their liver was used. Also it was used as a lubricant. But their eggs were a real treat.