chimera

noun

• 1 (Chimera) (in Greek mythology) a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail.
• any mythical animal with parts taken from various animals.

• 2a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve:the economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera

• 3 Biology an organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues, formed by processes such as fusion of early embryos, grafting, or mutation:the sheeplike goat chimera
• a DNA molecule with sequences derived from two or more different organisms, formed by laboratory manipulation.

• 4 (usually chimaera) a cartilaginous marine fish with a long tail, an erect spine before the first dorsal fin, and typically a forward projection from the snout.

  • Subclass Hoplocephali: three families, in particular Chimaeridae. See also rabbitfish, ratfish