Spotted handfish
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| Spotted handfish | ||||||||||||||
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| Brachionichthys hirsutus (Lacépède, 1804) |
The spotted handfish, Brachionichthys hirsutus, is a rare Australian fish from the family Brachionichthyidae. It is classified as Critically Endangered (CR - A1cde) on the IUCN Red List 2002.
The spotted handfish is unusual in that it has highly adapted pectoral fins, which appear like hands (hence the name) and allow it to walk on the sea floor.
It has a highly restricted territory, being found only in the estuary of Derwent River, Tasmania, and nearby areas.
The handfish is a unique, Australian family of anglerfish. The anglerfish family Brachionichthyidae (handfish's) is the most speciose (having multiple species) of the few marine fish families that are an endemic to Australia. Handfish are unusual, small (up to 120mm in length), slow moving benthic fishes that prefer to 'walk' rather than swim. The pectoral, or side fins, are leg-like with extremities resembling a human hand (hence their common name).
[edit] References
- Bruce & Last (1996). Brachionichthys hirsutus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR A1cde v2.3)
- Brachionichthys hirsutus (TSN 623152). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 18 April 2006.
- "Brachionichthys hirsutus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- B. D. Bruce and M. A. Green (March 1998). The Spotted Handfish 1999–2001 Recovery Plan. Spotted Handfish Recovery Team. ISBN 0-643-06165-7.
