The researchers are delighted by the find. “This is an exciting discovery and it offers hope for the survival of pink handfish, as they clearly have a wider habitat and distribution than previously thought,” said lead researcher and marine biologist Neville Barrett from the University of Tasmania.
Little fish on the ledge
The pink handfish was spotted in the Tasman Fracture Marine Park, which is about the size of Switzerland. Bait had been strewn at the deep-water camera to attract fish and lobsters.
Research assistant Ashlee Bastiaansen of the University of Tasmania viewed the captured images and then saw the handfish. “I was watching one of our raw videos and a little fish popped up that looked a little odd,” Ashlee Bastiaansen told ABC News. “I looked closer and you could see his little hands.”
In total there are 14 species hand fishing. All walk on their fins on the seabed. They grow to about 12 centimeters in length.
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