Red Handfish Population has just Doubled! But who are these .. Walking Fish?
I was just reading about the rare but not so rare ‘Mohawk Fish’ when I decided to learn a little more about it.
As it turns out, this Thymichthys politus that used to be the word’s rarest fish, numbered only 20-40 individuals remains the world’s rarest fish, but at least has doubled its population.
Red Handfish, Thymichthys politus. Source: Rick Stuart-Smith / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution
source
“Finding a new population that is definitely distinct from the existing one is very exciting. It means there’s potentially a bigger gene pool and also that there are potentially other populations out there that we’re yet to find, so it’s very exciting indeed,” Ms Cooper said.
What is exactly this species?
The Red Handfish (Officially Thymichthys Politus) is one of approximately 14 species of the ‘handfish’
They have a very unusual characteristic regarding the way they ‘walk’ on the sea bed rather than swimming.
They can be found at two colour varieties. One red all over and the other one with red embellishments.
Are they really the ‘rarest’ fish in the world?
Actually no, there might be a rarest one. Their ‘cousins’ Ziebell’s handfish as
Science Alert mentions, have not been sighted for over ten years.
“The only thing that would have been more exciting last week would have been finding the Ziebell’s and finding out that they’re not extinct.
“Ziebell’s Handfish hasn’t been seen in over a decade, and there is a feeling that it’s quite possibly extinct, or at least very close to being so,” Dr Stuart-Smith said.
The red handfish live at depths 1- 20 meters and their maximum size cannot exceed 14 cm.
First spotted near Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula in the 1800, the only known living fish were 20 to 40, living near Hobart’s Frederic Henry Bay.
They live in small areas, without much traffic and they are quite social. However this species is endangered; the red handfish lay their eggs on the see floor, in seaweeds that are located in shallow waters, therefore it is easy for swimmers or boats to destroy them.
In case you are wandering .. how do they spawn
Make sure to watch this educational video > Red Fish Spawning: YouTube Video
This clip shows Red Handfish spawning - there is a courtship "dance" then the female lays her eggs tangled around vegetation while the male fertilises them. The female remains with the eggs for several weeks, brooding them until they hatch. She does not feed during this time.
(In the worlds of Mr Michael Baron)
The red handfish belong to the anglerfish family and possess too an illicium (modified dorsal fin) but it is very shorter than the anglerfish we explored yesterday, and not used as a fishing lure.
It is really sad to read that these species are endangered and may diminish in a few years.
Nevertheless, it is encouraging that there is a recovery plan in place
source: IMAS UTAS EDU
source: Environment Gov Australia
source: Australian Geographic
source : Australian Museum
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