Handfish
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Handfishes are anglerfishes in the genus Brachionichthys, the only genus in the family Brachionichthyidae.["Brachionichthyidae"]. FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.["Brachionichthys"]. FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
They are small (up to 15 cm) bottom-dwelling marine fishes found in coastal waters of southern Australia and Tasmania. Their skin is covered with denticles (tooth-like scales), giving them the name warty anglers.
They use their pectoral fins to walk about on the sea floor. These highly modified fins have the appearance of hands, hence their scientific name, from Latin bracchium meaning "arm" and Greek ichthys meaning "fish".
Like other anglerfishes, they possess an illicium, a modified dorsal fin ray above the mouth, but it is short and does not appear to be used as a fishing lure. The second dorsal spine is joined to the third by a flap of skin, making a crest.
Species
There are four species:- Spotted handfish, Brachionichthys hirsutus (Lacépède, 1804).
- Red handfish, Brachionichthys politus (Richardson, 1844).
- Brachionichthys unipennis (Cuvier, 1817).
- Brachionichthys verrucosus (McCulloch & Waite, 1918).
References
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