A fish with hands it likes to stroll around on recently scoopedfirst place in the Cold Water categoryofOcean Art 2022 . Snapped by lensman Nicolas Remy , the spotted handfish ( Brachionichthys hirsutus ) actually does n’t have proper hands but modify thoracic louvre that it uses to take the air along the seafloor .
Spotted handfish are critically endangered , with only 3,000 consider to be leave in the wilderness . It figures , then , that it lead Remy a marathon nine - hour diva before he found one in Hobart , Tasmania ’s Derwent River . Remy place the place specifically in search of a spotted handfish as it was a known hangout for the species , but with just two metre ( 6.56 feet ) of profile , it was never going to be an easy task .
drift through the silty shadow finally paid off , and thanks to some nifty lighting kit , Remy was able to conquer this stunning shot of the famous “ Pisces with hands ” . It ’s a fitting species to call Tasmania menage , sit nicely alongside echidnas and duckbilled platypus as some of the world ’s weirdest wildlife .
These pectoral fins were made for walking, and that’s near enough what they do. Image credit: Matty Testoni via iNaturalist,CC BY-NC 4.0
Spotted handfish are a type of anglerfish that are only observe in a stretch along the coast of south - eastern Australia and Tasmania . They eat crustacean , worm , and shells and use their neighbors like stalked ascidians and sponges as a mast on which to hang their eggs .
chronicle secernate us that this could be very unsound news show for the spotty handfish , as its tranquil handfish cousin-german ( Sympterichthys unipennis ) became thefirst nautical fish mintage to be considered a “ modern extinction ” . A meet testimonial to the species was made byThe Handfish Conservation Projectwhich gave an artful description of their appearance :
“ If you ’ve never seen a handfish before , imagine dipping a toad in some brightly colored paint , telling it a sad level and squeeze it to wear gloves two sizes too big . ”
Handfish sighting are therefore exciting word for conservationists , and observations like Remy ’s capture how entirely bizarre these animate being are , as well as what a shame it would be to miss them .
Fortunately , an ambassador universe of spotted handfish has of late beenbred in captivity for the first meter , so finger’s breadth crossed we can turn these grumpy clowns ’ frown upside down with a bright , more abundant future for the species .
