#trymichthys

A team of divers and the citizen science project Reef Life Survey have discovered a new population of what is believed to be the world’s rarest fish. The Red Handfish (Thymichthys politus), is a small and critically endangered bonyfish, only found off south east Tasmania, and until last week only one remaining population of around 20-40 individuals had been identified. The new site, which is secret in order to protect the new population, contains an estimated of 20-40 individuals, and is few kilometres away from the previously known population in Frederick Henry Bay. Each site covers just 50 metres by 20 metres - about the size of two tennis courts - as the range of the handfish is limited by the fact it walks on the seafloor instead of swimming.