Rare Fish With Hands Found Off Tasmanian Coast

F*****g high five for Australia’s weird and wonderful wildlife and a proper fist-bump for Tasmania who are once again stepping forward and raising their hands to rep Ozzyland with yet another unique creature.

Whether you’re a proper Ozzy or whether you’ve just got a passing knowledge of this great southern land, you probably know that Tasmania is where the real f**k-ups live.  Yep, the island that looks like a hairy minge is pretty famous for kissing cousins and their two-headed progeny, marsupial devils that transform into whirlwinds and an extinct tiger that looked more like a dog, so it’s no surprise to find out some pretty handy fish also call the place home.

Well now we know where fish-fingers come from. Credit: Antonia Cooper

Rare Red Handfish are googly-eyed little b*****ds and they’re as rare as rocking horse sh**.  However, thanks to some eagle-eyed marine scientists, they’re no longer quite as rare as we thought.

Just a short while ago, we thought there were only twenty to forty of the little pricks living on a reef off of Tassie’s south-east coast, but thanks to Antonia Cooper (of the University of Tasmania’s Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies) and her intrepid team, we now reckon there’s twice that many.  Yeah, that’s still not a lot, but it’s a great sign that there’s still so much more to discover under the sea!

Looks kinda like someone put googly eyes on a sea slug. Credit: Antonia Cooper

After a tip-off that some pretty rare fish were hanging around the reef, Cooper and her mates found eight of the colourful little buggers.  They’re only small, measuring about two to five inches long, and they come in two colour variations.  One is the standard bright red while the other is the limited edition chase fish of the pack, coming in a special design featuring red embellishments.

No wonder he looks grumpy. The internet just outed him to Captain Birdseye. Credit: Antonia Cooper

And although I gave them a bit of sh** before, they’re actually pretty cool looking little dudes.  The highlight is of course, their hands.  They use them to crawl along the ocean floor, make obscene gestures to each other and scratch their little fish cloacas.

This one’s almost cute. Credit: Antonia Cooper

They’re easily one of the most rare fish in the sea but Cooper reckons there might be more undiscovered groups out there.  Let’s hope so.  These little legends are a perfect addition to Tasmania’s roster of f***ed up critters.

Good on ya, Coops.  I suggest we put our hands together for your hard work and celebrate with some fish fingers.

H/T: National Geographic.