Extinct Animals - Smooth Handfish

Pictured is the red handfish, a close relative of the now-extinct smooth handfish, which existed in abundance in the waters around Australia just 200 years ago. Named after the uncanny resemblance to human arms and hands, the smooth handfish—which was declared extinct in 2020—also featured a very punk-rock mohawk-like spike on its head (just like its cousin shown here.) Currently, there is only one known preserved specimen of the extinct smooth handfish in the entire world.

In the past, it was likely reasonably common, as it was one of the first fish described on François Péron's 1802 survey of Australia and an individual was caught with a simple dipnet; this is the only known specimen of the species. When and how the species went extinct is relatively unclear, but it likely had to do with the intensive scallop and oyster harvesting that went on in the area between the 19th and mid-20th centuries which dredged every part of the channel, resulting in the destruction of critical habitat that the benthic handfish required.[2][3][4]

In March 2020, the smooth handfish was the first modern-day marine fish to be officially declared extinct in the IUCN Red List.[2][5] However, this was reversed in September 2021, as there is not sufficient data to confirm this status