Kurtus gulliveri

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Kurtus gulliveri
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Kurtidae
Genus: Kurtus
Species:
K. gulliveri
Binomial name
Kurtus gulliveri
Castelnau, 1878

Kurtus gulliveri, the nurseryfish, is a species of fish in the family Kurtidae native to fresh and brackish waters in southern New Guinea and northern Australia. [1] [2] This species is famous for its unusual breeding strategy where the male carries the egg cluster on a hook protruding from the forehead (supraoccipital). [2] Females do not have a hook. [2] It feeds on crustaceans (especially prawn and shrimp), small fish and insect larvae. [3] This species is well regarded as food. [4] The specific name honours a "Mr Gulliver" who collected the type, thought most likely to refer to Thomas Allen Gulliver (1847-1931) who worked on Australia's a post and telegraph services and who lived near the Norman River, Gulf of Carpentaria where he collected natural history specimens and where the type of this species was collected. [5]

Biology

The nurseryfish is considered euryhaline [6] and can be found in estuaries, mangrove swamps, nipa swamps and slow-flowing rivers with high turbidity [ citation needed ]. This species can reach a length of 63 cm (25 in), [4] although most are far smaller. In a study of its morphology, 159 specimens were examined and the largest was 33 cm (13 in), while the average was 14 cm (5.5 in). [2] Nurseryfish also have small, conical teeth arranged in bands and some in patches. [3] They are carnivorous. [3] Their spawning season is thought to be from June to January. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Jenkins, A.; Kullander, F.F. & Tan, H.H. (2009). "Kurtus gulliveri". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2009: e.T169365A6612450. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T169365A6612450.en .
  2. 1 2 3 4 Berra, T.B. (2003). Nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri (Perciformes: Kurtidae), from northern Australia: redescription, distribution, egg mass, and comparison with K. indicus from southeast Asia. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters 14(4): 295-306.
  3. 1 2 3 Berra, T.B.; and Wedd, D. (2001). Alimentary canal anatomy and diet of the nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri (Perciformes: Kurtidae) from the Northern Territory of Australia. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 17: 21-25.
  4. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Kurtus gulliveri". FishBase . August 2013 version.
  5. ↑ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (31 May 2018). "Order KURTIFORMES (Nurseryfishes and Cardinalfishes)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Crook, David A.; Wedd, Dion; Berra, Tim M. (2015). "Analysis of otolith 87 Sr/ 86 Sr to elucidate salinity histories of Nurseryfish Kurtus gulliveri (Perciformes:Kurtidae) in a tropical lowland river in northern Australia" . Freshwater Science. 34 (2): 609–619. doi:10.1086/681022. ISSN   2161-9549.
  7. ↑ Berra, Tim M.; Wedd, Dion; He, You (2016). "Larval nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri (Perciformes : Kurtidae), in the Adelaide River of the Northern Territory: their season, fellow travellers and unusual rib anatomy" . Australian Journal of Zoology. 64 (4): 262. doi:10.1071/ZO16041. ISSN   0004-959X.


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