Fish
Red Handfish
Thymichthys politus · also called red handfishes
Somewhere within a single tiny patch of reef off the coast of Tasmania, a red handfish shuffles across the seafloor on fins shaped almost like small hands, one of only a few dozen known individuals of its kind left anywhere on the planet.
Overview
The red handfish, Thymichthys politus, is a critically endangered fish found only within a very small area of reef habitat near Tasmania, Australia. Its hand-like walking fins and extraordinarily limited range make it one of the rarest and most geographically restricted fish species in the world.
A species down to one small patch of reef
Because the entire known population of red handfish exists within such a tiny stretch of habitat, any local disturbance carries outsized risk, making this small, slow-walking fish one of the most acute conservation priorities among marine species anywhere.
Status
Critically Endangered — surviving only within a very small known reef area near Tasmania, with active conservation breeding and habitat protection programmes underway.
Red Handfish: common questions
How rare is the red handfish really?
With only a small number of known wild individuals remaining, all restricted to a tiny area of reef near Tasmania, Australia, the red handfish is considered one of the rarest fish species in the world, and its extremely limited population makes it acutely vulnerable to any localised environmental disturbance affecting its small home reef.
Why doesn't the red handfish just swim like other fish?
Although a red handfish is capable of swimming in short bursts if necessary, it strongly prefers to walk across the seafloor using its modified, hand-shaped pectoral fins, rarely swimming unless directly disturbed or threatened, a behavioural preference shared with its close handfish relatives.
How does a red handfish take care of its eggs?
A red handfish lays its eggs directly onto local seaweed within its home reef area and is known to guard the eggs until they hatch, a parental behaviour that ties the species' entire reproductive success closely to the specific ongoing health of its very small, restricted habitat patch.
Where can you find a red handfish?
The red handfish is native exclusively to a very small area of reef habitat near Tasmania, Australia, and is not found naturally anywhere else in the world, making it one of the most geographically restricted marine fish species currently known to science.