Freshwater fish of Australia

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Freshwater fish of Australia are limited to approximately 280 species, even though the Australian continent is larger than the contiguous United States. [1]

The small number of species found in Australian inland waters is partly because Australia is the driest continent on earth. Rainfall is sporadic over much of the continent, and fish cannot live in many of the desert regions of South Australia and Western Australia. Most freshwater species are found in tropical or subtropical regions. [1]

A large proportion of freshwater species are endemic to Australia. Australia is unique in that the family Percicthyidae (temperate perches) and other families suspected in reality to lie within it (e.g. Gadopsidae, Nannopercidae) have risen to prominence in and dominate many of its freshwater systems, in contrast to the Northern Hemisphere where freshwater fish faunas are overwhelmingly dominated by the carp family, Cyprinidae. (No cyprinid species is native to Australia). Due to the illegal introduction of carp (Cyprinus carpio), Cyprinidae is now present in a destructive form in Australia. The Galaxiidae have also risen to unusual prominence in Australia, with the bulk of the world's Galaxias species found in Australia and its neighbouring land mass New Zealand.

The most important freshwater system in Australia is the Murray-Darling Basin which drains approximately 13% of the continent and contains some of Australia's most significant freshwater fish species including the Murray Cod, Australia's largest freshwater fish.

Australian freshwater fish have not fared well since European settlement of Australia in 1788. The majority of Australian freshwater fishes are poorly understood and are under threat due to human activities such clearing of riparian vegetation and siltation associated with agricultural practices, snag removal, overfishing, river regulation through dams and weirs, introduced fish and diseases. Two native fish populations that may have been separate species or sub-species, the Richmond River cod and the Brisbane River cod, are extinct, and a number of other species are listed as endangered or critically endangered.

Related Research Articles

Cyprinidae family of fishes

The Cyprinidae are the family of freshwater fishes, collectively called cyprinids, that includes the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives. Also commonly called the "carp family", or "minnow family", Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest vertebrate animal family in general, with about 3,000 species of which only 1,270 remain extant, divided into about 370 genera. They range from about 12 mm to the 3-m Catlocarpio siamensis. The family belongs to the ostariophysian order Cypriniformes, of whose genera and species the cyprinids make up more than two-thirds. The family name is derived from the Ancient Greek kyprînos.

Common carp Species of fish

The common carp or European carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The native wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered a destructive invasive species, being included in the list of the world's 100 worst invasive species. It gives its name to the carp family, Cyprinidae.

Cypriniformes order of fishes

Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches, and relatives. This order contains 11 or 12 families, over 400 genera, and more than 4,250 species, with new species being described every few months or so, and new genera being recognized frequently. They are most diverse in southeastern Asia, and are entirely absent from Australia and South America. At 112 years old, the longest-lived cypriniform fish documented is the bigmouth buffalo.

Murray cod A large Australian predatory freshwater fish in the family Percichthyidae

The Murray cod is a large Australian predatory freshwater fish of the genus Maccullochella in the family Percichthyidae. Although the species is called a cod in the vernacular, it is not related to the Northern Hemisphere marine cod (Gadus) species. The Murray cod is an important part of Australia's vertebrate wildlife—as an apex predator in the Murray-Darling River system—and also significant in Australia's human culture. The Murray cod is the largest exclusively freshwater fish in Australia, and one of the largest in the world. Other common names for Murray cod include cod, greenfish, goodoo, Mary River cod, Murray perch, ponde, pondi and Queensland freshwater cod.

Eastern freshwater cod species of fish

The eastern freshwater cod, also known as the eastern cod or Clarence River cod, is a large predatory freshwater fish of the genus Maccullochella and the family Percichthyidae, that occur in the coastal Clarence River system of north-eastern New South Wales. Eastern freshwater cod are closely related to the Murray cod of the Murray-Darling River system, and are considered an icon of the Clarence River system.

Trout cod species of fish

Trout cod or bluenose cod, Maccullochella macquariensis, is a large predatory freshwater fish of the genus Maccullochella and the family Percichthyidae, closely related to the Murray cod. It was originally widespread in the south-east corner of the Murray-Darling river system in Australia, but is now endangered.

Temperate perch family of fishes

The members of the family Percichthyidae are known as the temperate perches. They belong to the order Perciformes, the perch-like fishes.

Macquarie perch species of fish

The Macquarie perch is an Australian native freshwater fish of the Murray-Darling river system. It is a member of the family Percichthyidae and is closely related to the golden perch.

Golden perch species of fish

The golden perch is a medium-sized, yellow or gold-coloured Australian freshwater fish species found primarily in the Murray-Darling River system, though a subspecies is found in the Lake Eyre-Cooper Creek system, and another subspecies, suspected to be ancestral to all other populations, is found in the Fitzroy River system in Queensland. Golden perch are not a true perch of the genus Perca, but a member of the Percichthyidae family.

Western carp gudgeon species of fish

The western carp gudgeon is one of several carp gudgeon species. Carp gudgeons are very small perciform fish found in the Australian Murray-Darling River system, mainly in lowland environments, but some have been observed in upland environments. They are often found in small creeks, as well as billabongs and the edges of larger rivers. They prefer water 1 to 2 m deep with aquatic weed and structure provided by rocks or sunken timber.

The Mary River cod is a species of temperate perch native to the coastal Mary River system of southern Queensland, Australia. Mary River cod are one of Australia's most endangered freshwater fishes and are notable for being the most northerly of the four Maccullochella cods found or once found in coastal river systems of eastern Australia.

Stream capture geomorphological phenomenon

Stream capture, river capture, river piracy or stream piracy is a geomorphological phenomenon occurring when a stream or river drainage system or watershed is diverted from its own bed, and flows instead down the bed of a neighbouring stream. This can happen for several reasons, including:

Eel-tailed catfish species of fish

The eel-tailed catfish, Tandanus tandanus, is a species of catfish of the family Plotosidae. This fish is also known as dewfish, freshwater catfish, jewfish, and tandan.

<i>Maccullochella</i> genus of fishes

Maccullochella is a genus of large Australian predatory freshwater fish within the family Percichthyidae. The genus Maccullochella was named after an early Australian fish researcher with the surname McCulloch.

<i>Bidyanus bidyanus</i> species of fish

The silver perch is a medium-sized freshwater fish of the family Terapontidae endemic to the Murray-Darling river system in south-eastern Australia.

Australia has over 5000 described species of fish, a quarter of which are endemic. Seafood and aquaculture are major and highly regulated industries, and fishing for marine and freshwater native fish is popular.

Bighead carp species of fish

The bighead carp is a species of freshwater fish, one of several Asian carps. It is one of the most intensively exploited fishes in aquaculture, with an annual worldwide production of over three million tonnes in 2013, principally from China.

Julliens golden carp species of fish

The Jullien's golden carp is a species of endangered freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Southeast Asian river basins. Its existence is being threatened by various economic activities, such as large-scale agriculture and the building of dams for hydropower.

Scottsdale Reserve Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

Scottsdale Reserve is a 1,328-hectare (3,280-acre) nature reserve on the Murrumbidgee River in south-central New South Wales, Australia. It is 79 kilometres (49 mi) south of Canberra, and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Bredbo. It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia (BHA), which purchased it in 2006. The purchase was supportive of projects aiming to connect existing fragmented remnant habitat such as K2C. Since the 1870s up until 2006, the land was used for agriculture – primarily sheep grazing with some minor cropping. A significant component of the Reserve has been cleared of native vegetation.

References

  1. 1 2 Bray, Dianne. "Freshwater Fishes". Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 30 September 2014.