Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus)

Scientific name: Brachionichthys hirsutus Lacep?de, 1804

Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus)

The Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) is a marine fish of the family Brachionichthyidae. Native range: Southwest Pacific, Endemic to Tasmania, Australia. Has been nearly wiped out by an introduced starfish which preys on its egg clusters.

Biology

Dorsal soft rays (total): 19-21; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10. This species is unique in having the following set of characters: esca small, 15-26% (mean 20%) of illicium length (including esca); illicium very slender, no dermal spinules, length 19-20% SL (mean 20%), 2.3-2.4 times in head length; eye moderate, exceeding 5.4 times in head; body entirely covered with close-set, non-imbricate scales; scale bases subcircular with long unicuspid spinules (except for those closely-associated with pores of the acoustico-lateralis system); spinules originating from middle of scale base, variable in length over body; second dorsal-fin rays 17-19 (mean 18), fin base 61-64 (mean 62%) SL; first ray of first dorsal fin length 0.7-1.0 times length of longest ray of second dorsal fin; anal-fin rays 8-10; pectoral-fin rays usually 7; upper body usually covered with fine dark spots or short streaks (rarely with long streaks on head); caudal fin with dense coverage of fine spots, forming a dark sub

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Brachionichthys hirsutus
Family
Brachionichthyidae (Handfishes)
Order
Lophiiformes (Anglerfishes)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
15.0
Depth range
1–60 m (3–197 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; non-migratory; depth range 1 - 60 m, usually 5 - 15 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Southwest Pacific: Endemic to Tasmania, Australia. Has been nearly wiped out by an introduced starfish which preys on its egg clusters.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Critically Endangered (CR) (A1cde)
Threat to humans
Harmless

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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