The spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) is a rare Australian fish in the handfish family, Brachionichthyidae, classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List 2020. It has a highly restricted range, being found only in the estuary of Derwent River, Tasmania, and nearby areas, with the main threat to its existence being an invasive species, the Northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis).
The spotted handfish is an unusual fish, in that it has highly adapted pectoral fins, which appear like hands (hence the name) and allow it to walk on the sea floor.
^Edgar g.; Stuart-Smith, R. & Last, P.R. "Brachionichthys hirsutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T2958A121210485. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T2958A121210485.en. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
^Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2024). "Brachionichthys hirsutus" in FishBase. February 2024 version.
The spottedhandfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) is a rare Australian fish in the handfish family, Brachionichthyidae, classified as critically endangered...
Handfish are marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Brachionichthyidae, a group which comprises five genera and 14 extant species and which is...
The Australian spottedhandfish (Brachionichthys australis), also known as the Australian handfish or common handfish, is a species of marine ray-finned...
members of the handfish family this fish is endemic to Australia. The IUCN classify the red handfish as Critically Endangered. The red handfish was first formally...
major factor in the decline of the critically endangered spottedhandfish. It preys on the handfish eggs, and/or on the sea squirts (ascidians) that help...
to all human suffering. Walking fish Alligator gar Amphibious fish Spottedhandfish Other lobe-finned fish found in fossils from the Devonian Period: Coelacanth...
fish and fish waste. In Tasmania it preys on the egg masses of the spottedhandfish and the ascidians on which they spawn. In Japan, the sunstar Solaster...
captivity. SpottedHandfish. Sealife Melbourne Aquarium and has been the first facility to successfully sex and breed the Tasmanian spottedhandfish in captivity...
creatures, including the native smooth spotted shore crab (Paragrapsus laevis) and the critically endangered spottedhandfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus). Though...
aduncus australis), southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) and the rare spottedhandfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus), whose only habitat is in the Derwent estuary...
thought to belong to the closely related extant genus Brachionichthys or handfish. In 2005, a fossil from Miocene Algeria (3 to 23 million years ago), Antennarius...
find themselves in Ralphs Bay. It is also an important area for the spottedhandfish. They are critically endangered and, because of the pollution in the...
Southern Reef, while the red handfish has only been found in two small patches of reef off the coast of Tasmania. The spotted wobbegong is a carpet shark...
Drawing of Steller's sea cow by Sven Larsson Waxell (1742). Drawing of a spotted green pigeon by John Latham (1823). Engraving of a Réunion giant tortoise...
sea floor but not on land. One such animal is the flying gurnard. Handfish The handfish walks along the seafloor using its pectoral fins, which look like...
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