The Old World silversides are a family, Atherinidae, of fish in the order Atheriniformes. Atherinidae are abundant and considered bony fish (teleost) that are widespread globally, living in rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters. They occur worldwide in tropical and temperate waters. About two-thirds of the species are marine, and the remainder live in fresh water. The 74 species are in 13 genera. The genus Craterocephalus is the most diverse with 25 species. Four genera are monotypic.
Agassiz's perchlet, also known as Agassiz's glass fish and the olive perchlet, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Ambassidae. It is semi-transparent with dark scale edges forming a pattern over most of the body. It grows to a maximum of 7.5 cm. It is a macrophyte spawner with adhesive eggs. It is endemic to Australia. It was named for the zoologist Louis Agassiz.
The Darling River hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to Australia. The species name amniculus is from the Latin meaning a small creek or stream, in reference to the habitat where these fish are often found.
Craterocephalus is a genus of small and slender brackish or freshwater silversides from Australia and New Guinea. It is the most diverse genus in the family Atherinidae, containing 25 of the 71 species.
The Finke River hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae. It is endemic to the Finke River system in the Northern Territory, where it is widespread in open water or around aquatic vegetation. They occur in a wide range of salinity and pH and in Summer seek refuge in semi-permanent water holes. They are omnivores and feed on small crustaceans, insects, gastropods, polychaete worms, algae and fish eggs. This species shows a wide tolerance to temperature and salinity and is omnivore, probably spawning during warmer months. It was previously mis-identified as Craterocephalus eyresii.
The Dalhousie hardyhead is a species of silverside in the family Atherinidae. It is endemic to the warm waters of Dalhousie Springs in the Lake Eyre basin, Australia, along with the similar Craterocephalus gloveri. It inhabits shady areas in tropical freshwater streams at 20-39 °C, but has been recorded at 41.8 °C. Its food consists of gastropods, aquatic plants, green filamentous algae, detritus and small invertebrates; food is mainly taken from the substrate.
The Murray hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to inland parts of southeastern Australia. The fish is an omnivore, feeding on small crustaceans, aquatic insects and algae.
Glover's hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to Dalhousie Springs in the Lake Eyre basin, Australia. The fish has a high thermal tolerance and inhabits warm, freshwater spring-fed pools and channels. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The specific name honours John Glover (1935–1992) who was the Curator of Fishes at the South Australian Museum.
The Drysdale hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to the Drysdale River in the Kimberley region of Australia. It is listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List and rare under the Australian EPBC Act 1999. The specific name honours Ivantsoff's wife, Helena.
Kailola's hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to Papua New Guinea. It reaches a maximum length of 6 cm. It inhabits shallow, clear creeks with gravel substrate. This species was described by Walter Ivantsoff, Lucy Crowley and Gerald R. Allen in 1987 with a type locality of a still backwater of Foasi Creek 3 kilometers west of Safia airstrip in Papua New Guinea. The specific name honours the Patricia J. Kailola, for her contribution to the knowledge of the ichthyology of Papua New Guinea.
Craterocephalus lentiginosus, the freckled hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to the Kimberley region in the northwest of Australia. It is also called the Prince Regent hardyhead.
The Magela hardyhead or Mariana's Hardyhead, is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to Australia. It has a very restricted distribution, only found in the Alligator Rivers region of the Northern Territory where it inhabits shallow and fast-flowing freshwater creeks. The fish has a high thermal tolerance, like some other species in the genus Craterocephalus, and may tolerate water temperatures up to 39.5º. The specific name honours Walter Ivantsoff's daughter, Marian.
The fly-specked hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic and widespread in the freshwater streams of the Northern Territory down the east coast of Queensland into southern Queensland. It forms shoals in streams' shallows. It grows up to 10 cm in length.
Melanotaenia duboulayi, the crimson-spotted rainbowfish, less commonly known as the Duboulay's rainbowfish, is a species of freshwater fish endemic to coastal eastern Australia. M. duboulayi has also been kept as an aquarium fish since the early 20th century, and is the original "Australian rainbowfish".
Norfolkia thomasi, known commonly as the Thomas' triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny in the genus Norfolkia. It was described by Gilbert Percy Whitley in 1964, naming it in honour of Leonard Rees Thomas who organised the Australian Museum's 1962 Swain Reefs Expedition. The hemispherical eggs of the Thomas' triplefin are covered in sticky threads that help anchor them in the algae on their nesting sites. This adaption helps insure the safety of the eggs. One the eggs hatch the larvae that emerge are planktonic and they stick to shallow waters near the shore. The matured Thomas' triplefin then ventures out into the coral reef and intertidal pools. This species is found in the western Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands to the Tuamoto Archipelago, in Australia it is distributed from the northern Great Barrier Reef south to Byron Bay, New South Wales.
The ornate rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish endemic to an area in eastern Australia, where it is native to coastal regions and sandy offshore islands in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. It is the only known member of its genus. It is a popular aquarium fish.
Helen K. Larson is an ichthyologist who specialises in the fishes of the Indo-Pacific.
Atherion elymus, the bearded silverside or pickleface hardyhead, is a species of silverside from the family Atherionidae. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.
McCulloch's hardyhead is a species of silverside from the family Atherionidae. This species occurs off the coasts of Australia. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Carl Leavitt Hubbs in 1919 from a type locality of Lord Howe Island and the specific name honours the Australian ichthyologist Allan Riverstone McCulloch (1885-1925), who was Curator of Fishes at the Australian Museum and who provided Jordan and Hubbs with the type.
Craterocephalus eyresii, the Lake Eyre hardyhead, is a species of freshwater silverside from the family Atherinidae which is endemic to the Lake Eyre basin in Australia.
