Swimming through Australia's deep waters, an unusual fish was first seen more than 20 years ago. Most unusual is that hand-like limbs were detected in the marine animal by divers. The pink handfish, scientifically named Brachiopsilus dianthus , was last found off the coast of Tasmania in 1999.
The meeting was only possible due to the presence of a robot that walks along the bottom of the sea with a camera to examine corals, lobsters and fish. It was then that, when analyzing the footage from the recordings, they saw the pink-hand fish in the footage. The animal appears to the right of the screen, behind seaweed, being attracted by the camera that has a bait, the target of dispute between two lobsters.
In addition, this feat only occurred a few times and to protect the species, the authorities classified the fish as threatened with extinction. Scientists are hopeful of the finding because it could be a sign that the species' number is growing.
"This discovery offers hope for the continued survival of the pink handfish, as they have a wider habitat and distribution than previously thought," explained the marine biologist Neville Barrett, associate at the University of Tasmania.
According to the biologist, "the biggest surprise was finding a pink handfish in the region at a depth of about 120 meters." That's because the pink handfish takes its name from the fins in the shape of a hand that it uses to walk on the bottom of the sea.
Ashlee Bastiaansen – another professional from the University of Tasmania – said in an interview with ABC channel, that the fish's “hands” draws a lot of attention: “I took a closer look and I was surprised to see their little hands”. Researchers say the pink handfish is native only to Australia and can be found in Tasmania's marine park, which is a conservation area the size of Switzerland.
Read too
- Satellite Gaia discovers fossil spiral arms in the Milky Way
- January astronomical calendar has good opportunities to observe planets; know more
- Astronaut on the International Space Station takes amazing photo of the Moon over a sunset on Earth
Have you watched our new YouTube videos? Subscribe to our channel!
The post Fish with hands? Marine animal is found for the first time in 20 years and first appeared in Gaze Digital .
Comments are closed.