ZooWeird 79

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

Spotted handfish. The Spotted Handfish is a rare and endangered fish of the Brachionichthyidae family. The species occurs exclusively in south-eastern Australia, in the lower Derwent River estuary, Frederick Henry Bay, D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and the northern Storm Bay region. This strange animal is best known for using its hand-like fins to “walk” on the sea bottom instead of ... swimming. The spotted handfish is a benthic (living on the sea bottom) fish, usually found “walking” or resting in coarse to fine silt and sand, at depths ranging from 5 to 10 meters (~16 to 32 ft). However, there have been recorded sightings at depths of up to 30 meters (~98 ft). The species feeds by sucking in prey items. In the wild, they have been reported to eat crustaceans, polychaete worms, and small shells. (All animal info from http://www.strangeanimals.info/2011/01/spotted-handfish-fish-that-walks.html#ixzz4Ysw7bAVe)

This guy is from Aus-tral-i-a—

And likes to walk on “hands”

Along the cluttered ocean floor—

It looks as if he stands!

He sucks in food (a hungry teen?),

But, please, avoid the yucks

That you will earn by saying here,

“The spotted handfish sucks!”