Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Lophiiformes (Anglerfishes) >
Brachionichthyidae (Handfishes)
Etymology: Brachionichthys: Latin, bracchium = arm + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335); australis: Name from Latin word 'australis' meaning southern; refers to its wide southern Australian distribution.. More on author: Last.
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 18 - 210 m (Ref. 72490), usually 40 - 150 m (Ref. 72490). Subtropical, preferred ?; 33°S - 43°S, 128°E - 150°E
Southern Indian to Pacific: Australia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.4 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 72490)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 18-20;
Anal
soft rays: 8 - 11. This species possess the following set of characters: esca small, 8-24% (mean 14%) of illicium length (including esca); illicium elongate, no dermal spinules, length 23-28% SL, 1.8-2.1 times in head length; eye large, mainly less than 5.4 times in head; body entirely covered with close-set, non-imbricate scales; scale bases subcircular with long unicuspid spinules (except for those closely associated with pores of the acoustico-lateralis system); spinules originating from middle of scale base, variable in length over body; second dorsal-fin rays 16-18 (mean 17), fin base 55-61% (mean 58%) SL; length of first ray of first dorsal fin 1.1-1.4 times length of longest ray of second dorsal fin; anal-fin rays usually 9-10; pectoral-fin rays 7; upper body lightly covered with longitudinal streak-like markings not spots; caudal fin with sparse coverage of large dark spots, not forming a broad submarginal bar (Ref. 72490).
This species is recorded from depths of 18 m to at least 210 m, commonly at about 40-150 m depth, but may occur deeper; one specimen was taken by a trawler fishing in 123-277 m, but the depth of capture cannot be determined. Newly hatched young and egg capsule diameter unknown; egg diameter 1.7-1.9 mm (Ref. 72490).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Last, P.R., D.C .Gledhill and B.H. Holmes, 2007. A new handfish, Brachionichthys australis sp. nov. (Lophiiformes: Brachionichthyidae), with a redescription of the critically endangered spotted handfish, B. hirsutus (Lacepède). Zootaxa 1666:53-68. (Ref. 72490)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundance
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.7501 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm Total Length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.2 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
69278): .
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100) .