A rare “walking” handfish has been spotted for the first time in 22 years
The handfish which is native to only Australia was spotted off the Tasmanian coast.
The species has over-sized “hands” on which they “walk” along the seabed in addition to swimming, hence it’s name.
The handfish was last sighted by a diver off Tasmania in 1999 and has only been seen four other times since the
Since then government placed the species as endangered as animal scientists feared for it’s survival but Australian researchers say they have found it again, on a deep sea camera recording in a marine park.
The new recording shows the fish in deeper and more open waters than it had lived in previously.
Scientists had thought the fish was a shallow water species that lived in sheltered bays – but it has now been found at a depth of 150m (390 ft) off Tasmania’s wild south coast. Pink handfish are one of 14 types of handfish seen around Tasmania, the island south of the Australian mainland.
“This is an exciting discovery and offers hope for the ongoing survival of pink handfish, as clearly they have a wider habitat and distribution than previously thought,” said lead researcher and marine biologist Neville Barrett, an associate professor at the University of Tasmania.
