Family Brachionichthyidae

Brachionichthyidae

Taxonomy: Small endemic Australian family with 2 genera and 4 recognised species; several species are yet to be described.

Distribution, ecology and habitat: Peculiar anglerfish relatives with arm-like pectoral fins and 3 dorsal-fin spines, last 2 forming obvious fin separate from more posterior, elongate, soft 2nd dorsal fin; head and body robust anteriorly, tapering gradually to shallow caudal peduncle; mouth small reaching to below front edge of small eye; pore-like gill opening above and behind pectoral-fin base; normal scales absent but skin sometimes covered with small spinules or warts; illicium on tip of snout, not retracting into special cavity; ventral fins jugular with one spine and 4 rays.
General description and diagnostic features: First dorsal spine a fishing lure on snout, second on head united by membrane, separated from long soft dorsal fin. Pelvic and pectoral fins used in "walking" along the bottom. Scales absent, but skin - rough or spinulated.

Characteristics:
Found in south-eastern Australia with most species restricted to Tasmanian waters; bottom-dwelling fishes living in a variety of habitats from inshore estuarine waters to deeper continental shelf waters to 60 m. Most species have restricted distributions and small populations.

Size: Reach 15 cm in length.

Food and feeding: Rather sedentary fishes feeding on small crustaceans such as amphipods, as well as small molluscs, polychaete worms and small fishes.

Reproduction and early life history: Much is known about the reproduction and early life history of handfishes due to monitoring and captive breeding programs for the Spotted Handfish. The Spotted Handfish and the Red Handfish spawn in September and October and fertilization is external. Females lay eggs masses (comprising 80-250 eggs) around the bases of sessile invertebrates and other structures. Spotted Handfish prefer stalked ascidians such as Sycozoa sp., whereas Red Handfish lay their eggs masses around algae (Caulerpa sp.).

Handfish eggs are large, 3-4 mm in diameter and are individually housed in separate flask-like structures, connected to others by tendrils and tubules. Females protect their egg masses for 7-8 weeks until the young hatch. Handfishes lack a pelagic larval stage and the young hatch as fully-formed miniature versions of the adults, 6-7 mm in length. The young remain near the spawning site and grow rapidly into their second year. Females mature at 2-3 years of age and between 75-80 mm SL

Conservation status:

Four species of handfish (including two undescribed species) are listed as threatened under The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act):

Brachionichthys hirsutus Spotted Handfish - listed as Endangered (facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future)

Brachionichthys politus Red Handfish - listed as Vulnerable (facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future)

Sympterichthys sp. Waterfall Bay Handfish - listed as Vulnerable (facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future)

Sympterichthys sp. Ziebell's Handfish - listed as Vulnerable (facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future)

All handfish species are protected under the Tasmanian Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995, which prohibits their collection in State waters without a permit.

The cause of the decline in spotted handfish is unclear. Suggested causes may include disturbance of benthic communities and predation on egg masses by the introduced northern Pacific seastar, habitat modification through increased siltation, heavy metal contamination or urban effluent (Bruce et al, 1998). The lack of a pelagic larval stage and low rates of dispersal may be responsible for their restricted distributions and may also have an impact on handfishes ability to recolonise areas where they once occurred.

Remarks: Handfishes commonly 'walk' on their pelvic and hand-like pectoral fins rather than swim.

Australian species:

References:

Bruce, B.D. & M.A. Green (Spotted Handfish Recovery Team). March 1998. The Spotted Handfish 1999-2001 Recovery Plan. ISBN 0 643 061657 http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/recovery/spotted-handfish/

Bruce, B.D., M.A. Green & P.R. Last. 1997. Developing captive husbandry techniques for spotted handfish, Brachionichthys hirsutus, and monitoring the 1996 spawning season. Final report to Endangered Species Unit, Environment Australia. CSIRO Division of Marine Research Hobart.

Bruce, B.D., M.A. Green & P.R. Last. 1998. Threatened Fishes of the World: Brachionichthys hirsutus (Lacepede, 1804) (Brachionichthyidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes. 52: 418.

Bruce, B.D., M.A. Green & P.R. Last. 1999. Aspects of the biology of the endangered spotted handfish, Brachionichthys hirsutus (Lophiiformes: Brachionichthyidae) off southern Australia. In: Séret B. & Sire, J.-Y. (eds.) Proc. 5th Indo-Pac. Fish Conf., Noumea, 1997: 369-380.

Last, P.R. & B.D. Bruce. 1997. Spotted handfish. Nature Australia. 25(7): 20-21.

Pietsch, T.W. 1981. The osteology and relationships of the anglerfish genus Tetrabrachium, with comments on lophiiform classification. U. S. Fish. Bull. 79(3): 387-419.

Pietsch, T.W. & D.B. Grobecker. 1987. Frogfishes of the World: Systematics, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology. Stanford University Press, Stanford, xxii + 420 pp.

Pietsch, T.W. & Kenaley, C.P. 2005. Brachionichthyidae. Brachionichthys. Handfishes, warty anglerfishes. Version 28 October 2005 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Brachionichthys/21996/2005.10.28 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

Pogonoski, J.J., D.A. Pollard & J.R. Paxton. 2002. Conservation Overview and action Plan for Australian Threatened and Potentially Threatened Marine and Estuarine Fishes. Environment Australia, Canberra.