Photo Ark project's 18,000th species is a rare fish that 'walks' on hands, with fewer than 250 left

An unusually slow-moving fish — one that needs about a year to cover a distance comparable to a basketball court — is part of a major conservation milestone.

The red handfish, a rare fish that gets around on hand-like fins instead of swimming in the usual way, is the 18,000th animal recorded in the Photo Ark.

What happened?

Joel Sartore, the National Geographic photographer behind the Photo Ark, announced on Instagram that the red handfish had been added to his worldwide wildlife documentation project.

"Did someone say 18k?!? I'm thrilled to announce the 18,000th species to join the Photo Ark — the red handfish," Sartore wrote. In the same post, he said the fish is "no bigger than my thumb" and that it belongs to a group of fish that uses oversized "hands" to move around rather than swim.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joel Sartore- Photo Ark (@joelsartore)

Sartore also highlighted just how scarce the species is. He said there are "fewer than 250 individuals left in the wild," a number that makes the red handfish one of the rarest fish on Earth.

Why does it matter?

Its small size does not make its problems small. According to Sartore's post, recovery of the red handfish is being held back by shrinking habitat, contamination, climate pressures, and human disturbance.

When rare species disappear, ecosystems lose important pieces that scientists may still not fully understand. That has implications for people as well, since healthy marine habitats help support cleaner water, stronger food webs, and more resilient coastal environments.

What's being done?

The Photo Ark is one part of the conservation effort. By photographing thousands of animals, Sartore's project creates a visual record of threatened species.

For the red handfish, that means focusing on the measures identified in Sartore's post: safeguarding habitat, reducing pollution, limiting human disturbance, and addressing the worsening effects of climate change.

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