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Glite Dictionary
genus Chimaera

genus Chimaera

1 9.9
A group of deep-sea fish with skeletons made of cartilage, related to sharks
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒiːnəs kɪˈmɛərə/
  • Specialized
: género Chimaera
  • Scientists studied members of the genus Chimaera to better understand the evolution of cartilaginous fishes.

Examples

  • The genus Chimaera includes several rare species of deep-sea fish.

  • A new species within the genus Chimaera was discovered off the coast of New Zealand.

  • The genus Chimaera includes various species of cartilaginous fish.

  • Did you know that genus Chimaera is also known as ghost sharks?

  • A new species within the genus Chimaera was discovered off the coast of New Zealand.

  • Scientists studied members of the genus Chimaera to better understand the evolution of cartilaginous fishes.

  • The genus Chimaera includes several rare species of deep-sea fish.

Surface Forms

genus Chimaera singular
genera Chimaera plural

Morphology

genus + Chimaera

This is a straightforward taxonomic noun phrase: a learner who knows 'genus' (a biological rank) and the proper name 'Chimaera' can readily infer it denotes the genus named Chimaera (a group of related species). Taxonomic naming is compositional and follows the same pattern across languages, so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Genus Chimaera comes from the mythical creature Chimaera, a strange animal made of parts of different beasts. Scientists called these odd deep-sea fishes Chimaera because their bodies seem like a mix of features, and they used genus to mean a 'group' or 'type'. So genus Chimaera now names the group of related fishes.