Two-spined blackfish

Last updated

Two-spined blackfish
Gadopsis bispinosus, Two-spined blackfish.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percichthyidae
Genus: Gadopsis
Species:
G. bispinosus
Binomial name
Gadopsis bispinosus
Sanger, 1984

The two-spined blackfish (Gadopsis bispinosus) is a species of temperate perch endemic to Australia. [2]

It is found in the cool, clear, strong-flowing, cobble bottomed, sub-alpine rivers and streams (ranging from small to large) in the southeast corner of the Murray-Darling river system. Their range encompasses northeast Victoria, southeast New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Originally two-spined blackfish co-inhabited many of these waters with Macquarie perch and trout cod.

Two-spined blackfish are similar in shape and appearance to river blackfish, though their spiny dorsal fin usually contain only two spines (hence their scientific name) in comparison to river blackfish which have 7 to 13 distinguishable spines in their spiny dorsal fin. (In reality, this is a rather academic point as two-spined blackfish have blurred the difference between the dorsal spines and the dorsal rays that make up their soft dorsal fin, and any distinctions between the two weakly calcified dorsal spines and the dorsal rays that follow it are hard to pick in a living specimen.)

The two-spined blackfish is similar to the river blackfish in spawning and diet; however, they prefer rocks and the interstices ("gaps") between to timber as the main spawning and habitat sites. Two-spined blackfish are also much smaller, commonly 15 to 17 cm and a maximum size of 30 cm. [3]

The species feeds mostly on aquatic insect larvae and terrestrial invertebrates, and occasionally other fishes and crayfish. [3] Two-spined blackfish breed between October and December. Larvae hatch after around 16 days and remain at the spawning site with the male parent for another 3 weeks. [3]

Two-spined blackfish have declined seriously due to stream siltation and competition by introduced species, particularly introduced trout species. The species suffers serious predation and competition from introduced species of trout but due its nocturnal habits and cryptic, cover-oriented behaviour it appears to survive in sufficient numbers to maintain populations in high quality habitats. Recent severe bushfires in south-eastern Australia (2003–2006), however, have filled many upland rivers with large quantities of silt, and infilled the interstices ("gaps") between larger rocks that two-spined blackfish normally use as a refuge from predatory trout species. The presumed result will be increased levels of trout predation on two-spined blackfish and the long-term future of two-spined blackfish is now of some concern. The blackfish species are very low in fecundity, slow-growing and long lived, and have low migratory tendencies, so are extremely vulnerable to overfishing and localised extinctions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trout cod</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pumpkinseed</span> Species of fish

The pumpkinseed, also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus Lepomis, from family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow perch</span> Species of freshwater fish

The yellow perch, commonly referred to as perch, striped perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill from New York. It is closely related, and morphologically similar to the European perch ; and is sometimes considered a subspecies of its European counterpart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macquarie perch</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden perch</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian bass</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River blackfish</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eel-tailed catfish</span> 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>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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brook stickleback</span> Species of fish

The brook stickleback is a small freshwater fish that is distributed across the US and Canada. It grows to a length of about 2 inches. It occupies the northern part of the eastern United States, as well as the southern half of Canada. Small populations are scattered throughout the Mississippi-Great Lakes basin extending to Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc., though some of these areas are not native to the species. This small fish inhabits clear, cool streams and lakes. They eat small invertebrates, algae, insect larvae, and occasionally their own eggs. They are also preyed upon by smallmouth bass and northern pike. Feedin time is usually dawn and sunset. The brook stickleback does have active competition mostly from minnows, but feeding times are different, along with diet. Spawning occurs in midsummer. Males secure a territory, build a nest, and mate with females. Males provide protection for the eggs, ward off predators, and usually die later in the season. This is considered an annual species. The nests are built out of aquatic grasses. Though the brook stickleback is not considered a threatened species, deforesting and changing waters are altering ecosystems of the species. Harvesting of trees around riparian environments is having a large effect of the stream ecosystem where the brook stickleback resides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agassiz's perchlet</span> Species of fish

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.

Galaxias fontanus, the Swan galaxias, is a species of fish in the family Galaxiidae. It is endemic to eastern Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel darter</span> Species of fish

The channel darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to North America where it typically occurs in the sandy or gravelly shallows of lakes and in small and medium-sized rivers in riffles over sand, gravel or rock bottoms. It is a small fish ranging from 34 to 72 mm in length, olive brown with darker speckles and sometimes with a dark spot below the eye and dark blotches along the flank. It feeds mostly on insect larvae and other small invertebrates and breeds in small streams. This species is listed as threatened by the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) but overall it has a wide range and numerous sub-populations and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as a "least concern species".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blenny darter</span> Species of fish

The blenny darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is a poorly known species which occurs in Alabama and Tennessee where it inhabits swift riffles.

<i>Etheostoma exile</i> Species of fish

Etheostoma exile, the Iowa darter, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is, along with about 17 other species of darters, is native to the lakes and streams of Iowa.

<i>Percopsis omiscomaycus</i> Species of fish

Percopsis omiscomaycus, also known as the trout-perch, the grounder or the sand minnow, is one of two species in the family Percopsidae. Its name comes from the Greek root words perc, meaning perch and opsi meaning appearance. The species name omiscomaycus is thought to be derived from a Native American word meaning trout. These are freshwater fish that prefer clear to slightly turbid water, and are found in rivers and lakes throughout North America. They are a generally small fish found in deep waters by day, but which migrate to shallower waters at night.They are most often seen washed up on beaches and are rarely seen alive or correctly identified. The trout-perch possess characteristics similar to both the trout and the perch. They are an important source of food for many predator fish such as walleye, northern pike, and lake trout. They are not a major human fishery, but are occasionally used as a bait fish.

<i>Leiopotherapon unicolor</i> Species of fish

Leiopotherapon unicolor, the spangled grunter or spangled perch is a species of ray-finned fish, a grunter from the family Terapontidae. It is endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nightfish</span> Species of fish

The nightfish is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a temperate perch from the family Percichthyidae which is endemic to southwestern Australia.

<i>Kuhlia rupestris</i> Species of fish

Kuhlia rupestris, the rock flagtail, jungle perch. mountain trout, buffalo bream, dusky-finned bulleye, rockmountain bass or spotted flagtail, is a species of ray-finned fish, a flagtail, from the family Kuhliidae. It is a catadromous species which is native to the Indo-Pacific and northern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern pygmy perch</span> Species of fish

The southern pygmy perch, also known as the Tasmanian pygmy perch, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a temperate perch from the family Percichthyidae which is native to south-eastern Australia and Tasmania.

References

  1. Lintermans, M.; Lieschke, J.; Koehn, J.; Sharley, J.; Tonkin, Z. (2019). "Gadopsis bispinosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T169363A129046083. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T169363A129046083.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2014). "Gadopsis bispinosus" in FishBase . February 2014 version.
  3. 1 2 3 Bray, Dianne; Gomon, Martin. "Twospine Blackfish, Gadopsis bispinosus". Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 14 September 2014.