ANIMAL SPECIES:Elephantfish, Callorhinchus milii (Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1823)
The strange looking Elephantfish can grow to 1.2m in length. It has a hoe-shaped structure on the snout.
Alternative Name/s
Elephant Shark, Ghost Shark, Ghostshark, Plownose Chimaera, Reperepe, Silver Fish, White Fillets, WhitefishIdentification
The Elephantfish can be easily recognised by the hoe-shaped structure on the snout. Its head has a series of obvious sensory canals and pores. The pectoral fins are large, the first dorsal fin is preceded by a strong, serrated spine, and the caudal fin has a long upper lobe.
The body is silvery white, and sometimes has darker markings behind the eyes and on the fins.
Size range
It grows to 1.2m in length.Distribution
The Elephantfish occurs off southern Australia and New Zealand.
Distribution by collection data
Biomaps map of Elephantfish specimens in the Australian Museum collection.
Habitat
It lives to depths of at least 200 m on the continental shelf
Behaviour and adaptations
Other behaviours and adaptations
The Elephantfish has a skeleton made of cartilage. Sharks and rays also have cartilaginous skeletons. All three groups of fishes are classified in the class Chondrichthyes.
Life cycle
In spring, females migrate into coastal bays and estuaries to lay their egg cases in sand and muddy substrates. The distinctively-shaped egg cases are sometimes found washed ashore after storms. They are up to 25 cm long, 10 cm wide, and take up to eight months to hatch.
Living with us
Economic/social impacts
It is caught commercially in New Zealand.
Classification
- Species:
- milii
- Genus:
- Callorhinchus
- Family:
- Callorhinchidae
- Order:
- Chimaeriformes
- Class:
- Chondrichthyes
- Subphylum:
- Vertebrata
- Phylum:
- Chordata
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
References
- Gorman, T.B.S. 1963. Biological and Economic Aspects of the Elephant Fish Callorhynchus milii Bory in Pegasus Bay and the Canterbury Bight. New Zealand Marine Department Fisheries Technical Report. 8. Pp. 54.
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994 Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513.
- McGrouther, M.A. 2000. Elephant Fish. in q&a. Nature Australia. 26(10): 82.
- Whitley, G.P. 1940. The fishes of Australia. Part I. The sharks, rays, devil-fish, and other primitive fishes of Australia and New Zealand. Royal Zoological Society N.S.W., Australian Zoological Handbook 1-280.
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An Elephantfish trawled off Bermagui View full size
Ken Graham
© DPI Fisheries
Elephantfish egg case View full size
Margot Craddock
© Margot Craddock
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