Mary River Cod | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Family: | Percichthyidae |
Genus: | Maccullochella |
Species: | M. mariensis |
Binomial name | |
Maccullochella mariensis Rowland, 1993 | |
Synonyms | |
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The Mary River cod (Maccullochella mariensis) is a species of temperate perch native to the coastal Mary River system of southern Queensland, Australia. [2] Mary River cod are one of Australia's most endangered freshwater fishes [3] and are notable for being the most northerly of the four Maccullochella cods found or once found in coastal river systems of eastern Australia.
The endangered status of the fish was one of the reasons that the Traveston Crossing Dam was not able to be built. [4]
The species is very territorial, staying in the same spot for 98% of the time, leaving only to feed and breed. [4]
The Mary River cod is a large fish recorded up to almost 40 kg and 120 cm in the early years of European settlement, but now are mostly less than 5 kg and 70 cm. [3]
Very similar in appearance to Murray cod and eastern freshwater cod, they are striking looking, golden-yellow to dark green or brown, deep-bodied fish with dark green to black mottling. [3] Curiously, Mary River cod have a slightly shorter, thicker caudal peduncle (tail wrist) than the other cod species.
The Mary River Cod is listed as Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and is estimated to only occur in less than 30% of its historic range. [3]
Incredibly abundant at the time of the first European settlement, Mary River Cod were grossly overfished with nets, lines, and explosives by the early European settlers and, as with other Maccullochella cods, were even used as pig feed. This overfishing, combined with the massive siltation of their habitats by land clearing, destruction of riparian vegetation and cattle trampling river banks, and dams and weirs blocking migration, rapidly caught up with this large, slow-growing, long-lived Maccullochella cod species, as it has with all its close relatives. It is estimated that just 600 individuals survived in the wild in the 1980s. [5]
Outside of a few stocked Queensland impoundments- upstream of the walls of Cressbrook, Hinze, Maroon, Moogerah, North Pine, Somerset, and Wivenhoe Dams and lakes Dyer (Bill Gunn dam) and Clarendon- the fish is a no-take species, and any caught should be carefully released. [3] A strict bag limit of one fish with a minimum size of 50 cm applies to the stocked impoundments. [3]
Taxonomically, the Mary River cod was originally described as a subspecies of the Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii based on studies of muscle proteins and enzymes.
As of 2010, after studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, the Mary River cod has been raised to full species status. [6] This research reveals the Mary River cod's closest relative is the eastern freshwater cod (Maccullochella ikei) of the Clarence River system.
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus Gadus is commonly not called cod.
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane in 1823. The penal colony of Moreton Bay later adopted the same name, eventually becoming the present city of Brisbane. The river is a tidal estuary and the water is brackish from its mouth through the majority of the Brisbane metropolitan area westward to the Mount Crosby Weir. The river is wide and navigable throughout the Brisbane metropolitan area.
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.
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.
The trout cod or bluenose cod, 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 an endangered species.
The members of the family Percichthyidae are known as the temperate perches. They belong to the order Perciformes, the perch-like fishes.
Peel River, a watercourse that is part of the Namoi catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the North West Slopes and Plains district of New South Wales, Australia.
Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs, crustaceans, and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. This article lists species classified as threatened species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
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.
The golden perch is a medium-sized, yellow or gold-coloured species of Australian freshwater fish 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. Other common names for golden perch are "goldens", “yellowbelly” and "callop", the last generally used only in South Australia.
The Australian bass is a small- to medium-sized species of primarily freshwater fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia. A member of the genus Macquaria from the family Percichthyidae, the Australian bass is an important member of the native fish assemblages found in east coast river systems. It is a native predatory fish and an extremely popular game fish species among anglers. The species was simply called perch in most coastal rivers where it was caught until the 1960s, when the name "Australian bass" started to gain popularity.
The river blackfish is a freshwater fish endemic to the temperate waters of south-eastern Australia. It is found from southern Queensland through to central Victoria, including in the Murray-Darling river system. It is also found in some eastern and southern flowing coastal rivers. Found primarily in upland and "midland" habitats, though early records of fish fauna suggest it was originally far more extensively distributed and was found in some lowland habitats as well. Originally, river blackfish co-inhabited many of its lowland and "midland" habitats with species such as Murray cod and golden perch, and its upland habitats with species such as trout cod and Macquarie perch. It is a popular angling fish in some parts of its range.
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:
The Richmond River cod was a form of Maccullochella cod, now believed to have been eastern freshwater cod, Maccullochella ikei, that occurred naturally in the Richmond River system, an east coast river system in north-east New South Wales, Australia.
The Brisbane River cod was a unique form of Maccullochella cod that occurred naturally in the Brisbane River system, an east coast river system in south east Queensland, Australia. The Brisbane River Cod was known as the Bumgur by the Jinibara people centred in the Kilcoy region and the junction of the Stanley and Brisbane Rivers. Their exact taxonomic status is not known, but based on several genetic studies it is suspected that Brisbane River Cod were a species intermediate between eastern freshwater cod of the Clarence River and Richmond River systems in northern New South Wales and Mary River cod of the Mary River in central Queensland.
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.
The Bloomfield River cod or the tropical nightfish, is a species of temperate perch endemic to Australia. It is only found in an 11-km stretch of the Bloomfield River in northern Queensland. These waterfalls appear to have blocked the migration of more aggressive tropical freshwater fish species such as the sooty grunter that have presumably naturally displaced the Bloomfield River cod from its former range in prehistoric times. With its very limited distribution, the Bloomfield River cod is clearly a relict species. It is a very important relict species, however, as it is the most northerly distributed percichthyid species in Australia, and raises interesting questions on the biogeography of percichthyid fish in Australia and the history of their ancient colonisation of Australian rivers.
The Mary River is a major river system in the South East and Wide Bay–Burnett regions of Queensland, Australia. The Mary River is unique in that it flows south to north.
Acanthopagrus australis, the yellowfin bream, also known as sea bream, surf bream, silver bream or eastern black bream, is a species of marine and freshwater fish of the porgy family, Sparidae. It is a deep-bodied fish, occasionally confused with Acanthopagrus butcheri, but is generally distinguished by its yellowish ventral and anal fins. It is a popular target for recreational fishermen due to its capacity to fight well above its weight coupled with its table quality.
Noosa Biosphere Reserve is an internationally protected area covering the region of Noosa in Queensland, Australia. It is formally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program for its highly diverse ecosystem over a relatively small space. It was the first Biosphere Reserve for the state of Queensland, established in September 2007. The reserve is bound by the Noosa Shire Council boundaries, extending offshore by 3 kilometres (1.9 mi), covering 150,000 hectares in total. It is governed by Noosa Biosphere Limited (NBL), a not-for-profit company, which mainly consists of members from the local community who fulfil roles in the governance board, sector boards, and partnerships. Community plays a significant role in the implementation of the Biosphere Reserve guidelines.