''Thymichthys'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marine

ray-finned fishes Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class (biology), class of Osteichthyes, bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Brachionichthyidae, the handfishes. Like all members of the handfish family these fishes are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to Australia.

Taxonomy

''Thymichthys'' was first proposed as a genus in 2009 by the Australian zoologists

Peter R. Last Peter Robert Last is an Australian ichthyologist, curator of the Australian National Fish Collection and a senior principal research scientist at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR) in Hobart, Tasmania. He is an elasmobranch expert and ...

and Daniel C. Gledhill when they reviewed the family Brachionichthyidae. ''Cheironectes politus'', which was described in 1844 by the Scottish

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

John Richardson from the Actaeon Islands in the

D'Entrecasteaux Channel The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania, Australia. The channel is the mouth for the estuaries of the Derwent and the Huon Rivers and empties into the Tasman ...

off

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, was designated as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. This genus is classified within the family Brachionichthyidae which the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' classifies the family Brachionichthyidae within the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Antennarioidei Antennarioidei is a suborder of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes. Taxonomy Antennarioidei was first proposed as a taxonomic grouping in 1912 by the English ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan. The 5th e ...

within the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Etymology

''Thymichthys'' is a combination of ''thymos'', meaning "warty growths", and ''ichthys'', which means "fish". This is an allusion to the warty protuberances on the skin of this fish.

Species

''Thymichthys'' contains the following two species: * ''

Thymichthys politus The red handfish (''Thymichthys politus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Brachionichthyidae, the handfishes. Like all members of the handfish family, this fish is endemic to Australia. The IUCN classify the r ...

'' ( Richardson, 1844) (Red handfish) * ''

Thymichthys verrucosus ''Thymichthys'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Brachionichthyidae, the handfishes. Like all members of the handfish family these fishes are endemic to Australia. Taxonomy ''Thymichthys'' was first proposed as a g ...

'' ( McCulloch & Waite, 1918) (Warty handfish)

Characteristics

''Thymichthys'' handfish are separated from the other handfish genera by the possession if war-like bumps, clearly marked sensory scales and dermal appendages on the skin. They also have a comparatively deeper body. the depth at the second

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

being between 32% and 52% of the

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

. The body varies in shape from almost triangular to elongate with a slightly compressed cross-section and they have a short

caudal peduncle Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

. Their

illicium ''Illicium'' is a genus of flowering plants treated as part of the family Schisandraceae,

may be thick or thin and is around 2 to 3.5 times the length of the head and 4 times the length of the esca. The surface of the skin is typically smooth with a scattering of embedded scales. These scales bear short, rearwards pointing and adpressed spinules which have a single or double point and the scales have irregularly shaped bases. They usually have vividly coloured bodies, strongly patterned with spots, blotches and reticulations. The species in this genus have maximum published lengths of around .

Distribution

''Thymichthys'' handfish are endemic to the temperate waters of Australia where they are found from Wilson Bluff on the

Great Australian Bight The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight (geography), bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern Coast, coastline of mainland Australia. There are two definitions for its extent—one by the Internation ...

east to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and south to

References

External links

National Geographic, including photos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7799623 Brachionichthyidae Marine fish genera Taxa named by Peter R. Last