Ocean researchers conducting a survey off the coast of Tasmania recently had a rare and exciting encounter with a “walking” pink handfish—a strange swimmer that hasn’t been sighted in 22 years. Lowering a baited camera to the seafloor to observe deep coral reefs in the Tasman Fracture Marine Park—a protected area the size of Switzerland—the scientists captured new footage of the unusual species last spring. But it wasn’t until October that a research assistant spotted the pink handfish. Footage from the survey shows several rock lobsters competing for bait near the camera when one crustacean disturbs a pink handfish (Brachiopsilus dianthus) hiding amidst swaying seaweed and coral. Not taking well to the intrusion, the small fish darts out of sight. “I was watching one of our rough videos and there was a little fish that popped up on this reef ledge that looked a bit odd,” researcher Ashlee Bastiaansen of the University …