Rare 'walking' red snapper reappears in Australia

A rare 'walking' snapper - an animal native to Australia - has been spotted for the first time in 22 years off the coast of Tasmania.

The last time the snapper appeared was in 1999 when a diver in Tasmania claimed to have found one. And this supposedly rarest fish in the world has only been seen four other times.

Concerned for the survival of the snapper, Australian authorities recently added it to the endangered species list, according to the BBC.

However, researchers say they have found the red handfish again in a deep-sea camera image earlier this year at a marine park.

The new images show the red hand fish in deeper and wider seas than before.

Scientists once thought this fish lived in shallow water in bays - but it is now found 150 meters deep off the south coast of Tasmania.

'This is an exciting discovery that gives hope for the long-term survival of red snapper, as they clearly have a wider habitat and distribution than previously thought,' marine biologist Neville said. Barrett, an associate professor at the University of Tasmania, who led the study.

True to its name, the pink handfish has distinctive pink fins that look a lot like hands and uses them to 'walk' along the seabed.

The new discovery gives scientists a rare opportunity to discover the red snapper.

Mr. Barrett's research team dropped the camera with bait on the sea floor of Tasman Fracture Marine Park in February, to survey the coral, lobster and fish species there.

This conservation park the size of the whole of Switzerland is known for having a long crack in the Earth's crust, allowing researchers to find marine life at depths of more than 4,000m.

A research assistant who reviewed the footage in October discovered the bizarre creature among a large number of larger animals attracted to the prey.

'I was watching one of the videos and saw a small fish appear on the reef looking a bit weird. I took a closer look and could notice its tiny hands,' Ashlee Bastiaansen from the University of Tasmania's Institute of Antarctic and Marine Studies, told ABC.

The image shows the 15cm long fish emerging from a ledge after being disturbed by a rock lobster.

At first, the fish was curious about the uproar, observing the scene for a few seconds before swimming away.

'This has given us a really great picture…to completely identify these fish and measure their size,' Mr Barrett told ABC.

'We are excited to be able to use a range of techniques and really see how important these deeper habitats are for such a rare species.

The snapper is one of 14 types of handfish seen around Tasmania, an island south of mainland Australia.