#brachionichthyidae

Thymichthys politus has been caught red handed! T. politus is more commonly known as the red handfish, not due to any criminal record, but for its unique pectoral fins which it uses to walk along the ocean floor.

RARE FISH SEEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE WILD

Australian researchers have found what is believed to be a narrowbody handfish (Pezichthys compressus) for the first time since 1996.

Narrowbody handfish were first discovered by CSIRO in 1986, and was last seen in 1996, but just in 2009 was identified as a different species. Using ROVs, researchers recorded these small fishes at 292 metres depth, at northeast of Flinders Island in Tasmania. This species is only know from two specimens in the Australian National Fish Collection, collected from deep waters off southeastern Australia.

In life, the is uniformly pale pink, with no evidence of spots or other markings in types, is also small, reaching at least 42.4 millimeters in length. Photo by Last & Gledhill.

Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus), family Brachionichthyidae, Tasmania, Australia

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED.

Red Handfish (Thymichthys politus), family Brachionichthyidae, Tasmania, Australia

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED.

The spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus), an amazing creature that walks the ocean floor, is a rare Australian fish from the family Brachionichthyidae. It is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List 2002. is the first Australian marine species to be threatened with extinction.

The greatest threats to the handfish appear to be siltation and invasive species. The Derwent Estuary where the fish lives is highly urbanised and industrialised, and a range of marine pests have been introduced through shipping.  One key pest is the Northern Pacific Seastar (Asterias amurensis), a particularly large and voracious predator that is now abundant in the estuary. Studies by CSIRO show that the seastars eat the stalked ascidians that the handfish use to attach their eggs.

AFamily Brachionichthyidae

(Handfish)

Handfish are a group of anglerfish classified by their unusual method of walking along the sea floor instead of swimming. Unsurprisingly they are found off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania. They like most anglerfish are fairly small as they only grow up to 6 in long. as i said before they walk along the sea floor using highly modified pectoral fins which look similar to hands, they also have an illicium but do not use it as a lure.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Chordata-Actinopterygii-Lophiiformes-Brachionichthyidae

Handfish (Brachionichthyidae family)