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A rare Tathicarpus Butleri
By Nicole Bond & Jodie van de Wetering - ABC WideBay
November 22, 2007
The Tathicarpus butleri or Blackspot Anglerfish caught by Dundowran fisherman Jack Stocks. The fish has four fins which it can 'walk' on, and the orange spot is a lure it uses to attract food. Photo by Jack Stocks
A rare Tathicarpus butleri, or Blackspot Anglerfish, caught in a crab pot near Hervey Bay, has died after leaping from its aquarium tank on the weekend.
Dundowran fisherman Jack Stocks was crabbing near the mouth of the Susan River about two months ago when he hauled in an extremely unusual find - a brown fish with a covering of weed-like growths, a crooked 'grin' of pointy teeth, and four fins with fingerlike appendages.
"When we looked at it more closely, we saw it had fins that could actually grasp," Mr Stocks explained.
Mr Stocks contacted Underwater World, SeaWorld and the Australian Museum in an effort to identify the creature, but without success.
Mr Stocks said the Australian Museum then contacted an anglerfish expert based in the United States, who was finally able to solve the mystery about a month after the fish was found, identifying the creature as a Blackspot Anglerfish or Tathicarpus butleri.
The species is usually found in the coral reefs and tropical inshore waters of Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. A specimen was found in Gladstone in 1907.
The identification surprised even the head of the museum's fish collection. "He said he was blown out of the water," Mr Stocks said.
The fish was being kept at a local aquarium, but died on the weekend after leaping out of its tank.