Moulton's handfish (''Sympterichthys moultoni'') is an
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
species of
handfish
Handfish are any anglerfish within the family Brachionichthyidae, a group which comprises five genera and 14 extant species. These benthic marine fish are unusual in the way they propel themselves by walking on the sea floor rather than swi ...
in the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Sympterichthys
''Sympterichthys'' is a genus in the handfish family Brachionichthyidae with these species:
Species
* '' Sympterichthys moultoni'' Last & Gledhill, 2009 (Moulton's handfish)
* '' Sympterichthys unipennis'' (G. Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas ...
''. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to a few locations off the southeastern coast of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It was first described as a distinct species in 2009 by Peter Last and Daniel Gledhill.
It lives at a depth of around - .
References
Brachionichthyidae
Endangered fish
Moulton's handfish
{{Lophiiformes-stub