Red Handfish

The red handfish is distinguished by its small, flattened, wart-like protuberances that cover its body and its red colouration. Two colour morphs exist, a bright red morph with red colour on both body and fins, with a black line separating the white fin edges, and a mottled morph with pink body covered in many red patches, with translucent pink fins expressing some bright red patches. They measure an average standard length of 61.4 mm (2.4 in) and an average total length of 80.1 mm (3.2 in). They use their hand-like fins to crawl rather than swim.

Historically, the species was found in multiple subpopulations in Tasmania, including Port Arthur, Fortescue Bay, the Actaeon Islands, D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and the Forestier Peninsula. Currently, the species has been found only on two small reefs in Frederick Henry Bay. These species typically reside in reef sand junctions, where with an abundance of sand and rocks. The macroalgae that cover the rock allows them to easily blend in with their environment. These reefs measure no more than 50 m in diameter with a circular area of no more than 75 m. It is found at depth ranges from 1 to 20 m deep.

Their limited range is attributed to the low reproduction and dispersal rate. Unlike other fish, they recruit directly on the benthos. Females lay their eggs at the base of seagrass from August through to October. Each egg mass contains 30-60 eggs that are connected by tubules bound together. These eggs are then guarded by the adults until they hatch.

The red handfish has the genus name Thymichthys, from the Greek thymos, meaning "warty growths", and ichthys, meaning "fish". This is an allusion to the warty protuberances on the skin of this fish. The specific name, politus, means "polished", an allusion Richardson did not explain, but is thought to be due to the smoothness of its skin to the touch or its bright colouration.