2023-09-02 05:04:13
published2. Sep 2023, 07:04
Significant find: 25 years after the last sighting – researchers find rare handfish
Australian scientists accidentally found a handfish during a research trip off the coast of Tasmania. The species is very rare and was last seen in 1996.
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The researchers from the Australian national research organization CSIRO brought these “proof photos” back from their ship excursion. You have discovered the rare Handfish.
CSIRO
It is a narrowbody handfish. This was last seen in 1996.
CSIRO
It was found at a depth of 292 meters, northeast of Australia’s Flinders Island.
Tourism Tasmania
That’s what it’s about
Researchers have found a narrowbody handfish off Tasmania – an extremely rare species.
This fish was last sighted in 1996.
The handfish was discovered on a research trip by ship with a deep-sea camera.
The researchers have been campaigning for the protection of this endangered species for years.
They are considered to be threatened with extinction and are only rarely found: the handfish. They owe their name to their small, hand-like fins, which they use for locomotion. During a research trip, scientists discovered a so-called narrowbody handfish (Pezichthys compressus) – a species that was supposedly last sighted 25 years ago. It has been known since 1986 that it exists.
That’s how the find came about
During a ship research trip by the Australian research organization Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the scientists actually wanted to deal with the effects of climate change on marine parks and fisheries. They discovered the rare fish by chance with a deep-sea camera.
The handfish was found north-east of Flinders Island in Tasmania, at a depth of 292 metres. This discovery is significant to the researchers because there are only two specimens of this fish species in the entire national fish collection, according to the CSIRO. The marine ecologist Candice Untiedt was involved in the research trip and discovered the fish: “The chance of finding such a fish in the area and capturing it with the deep-sea camera was very small, I was pretty excited,” Untiedt said in a statement.
Facts about the hand fish
Handfish are relatives of frogfish. There are 14 different types. So far they have only been found in the waters off the Australian coast. They are known for their unusual appearance, including the hand-like pectoral fins they use to move along the sea floor.
The fish are shy and difficult to find, making them difficult to study. Very little is known about handfish in general, but according to the Handfish Conservation Project, the spotted, red and squid handfish are particularly threatened with extinction. Reasons are the increasing destruction and loss of their habitat as well as pollution and climate change.
No 100 percent certainty
The researchers suspect that it is a narrowbody handfish. “Handfish have a very distinctive shape and features, so I was pretty sure it was a handfish,” says Untiedt. However, the handfish found is much larger than previously recorded specimens and is 100 kilometers from its currently known location, according to Carlie Devine, the crew’s research technician and handfish expert. “We can’t be 100% sure what species of handfish it is. We got as close as we could without collecting a sample.”
Further research trips
The research trip focused on recording the changes in the marine ecosystems since the last survey 25 years ago – no wonder, then, that another handfish has only just been discovered. Due to rapid warming of the sea waters off the southeast coast of Australia and shifts in species distributions, it is of crucial importance for the researchers to understand the impact of climate change on marine habitats.
During the trip, not only the narrowbody handfish but also other rare species were sighted. This scientific expedition allows researchers to collect data and more accurately characterize marine biodiversity and ecosystems.
Rare fish like the kobudai are always born female and change sex with age.
20min
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