| Handfish Temporal range: 55–0 Ma Eocene to Present[1] |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Family: | Brachionichthyidae |
| Genera | |
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Brachionichthys Bleeker, 1855 |
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Handfish is an anglerfish of the family Brachionichthyidae, a group which comprises five genera and fourteen extant species.[2] These benthic marine fish are unusual in the way they propel themselves by walking on the sea floor rather than swimming.
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Handfishes are found today in the coastal waters of southern Australia and Tasmania. This is the most species-rich of the few marine fish families that are endemic to the Australia.
Handfish are small fish, growing up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, have skin covered with denticles (tooth-like scales), giving them the alternate name warty anglers. They are slow-moving fishes that prefer to 'walk' rather than swim, using their modified pectoral fins to move about on the sea floor. These highly modified fins have the appearance of hands, hence their scientific name, from Latin bracchium meaning "arm" and Greek ichthys meaning "fish".
Like other anglerfish, they possess an illicium, a modified dorsal fin ray above the mouth, but it is short and does not appear to be used as a fishing lure.[1] The second dorsal spine is joined to the third by a flap of skin, making a crest.[3]
The prehistoric species, Histiontophorus bassani, from the Lutetian of Monte Bolca, is now considered to be a handfish, sometimes even being included in the genus Brachionichthys.
