Congoli

Last updated

Congoli
FMIB 45716 Pseudaphritis urvillii.jpeg
Waite, Edgar R. (1921) Illustrated Catalogue of the Fishes of South Australia. (Freshwater and Marine Image Bank).
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Notothenioidei
Family: Pseudaphritidae
McCulloch, 1929 [2]
Genus: Pseudaphritis
Castelnau, 1872 [3]
Species:
P. urvillii
Binomial name
Pseudaphritis urvillii
(Valenciennes, 1832)
Synonyms [4]
  • Aphritis urvilliiValenciennes, 1832
  • Eleginus bursinus Cuvier, 1830
  • Pseudaphritis bursinus(Cuvier, 1830)

The congoli (Pseudaphritis urvillii), also known as the freshwater flathead, marble fish, marbled flathead, sand trout, sanding, sandy, sandy whiting or tupong. [5] is a species of marine ray-finned fish and it is the only species of fish in the monotypic family Pseudaphritidae and the genus Pseudaphritis. It was initially classified as a member of the family Bovichtidae. [6]

Contents

Taxonomy

The congoli was first formally described as Aphritis urvillii in 1832 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes but the name Aphritis was a junior synonym of the Diptera genus Aphritis named by Pierre André Latreille in 1805. The genus Pseudaphritis was described by the French zoologist Francis de La Porte Castelnau in 1872. [3] The family Pseudaphritidae was first named by the Australian ichthyologist Allan Riverstone McCulloch in 1929. [2] The Pseudaphritidae are the sister family of the Bovichtidae and Eleginopidae and these are all sister to the rest of the families in the Notothenioidei which have been placed in the suggested superfamily Cryonotothenioidea. [7] Pseudaphritidae is one of two families of the suborder Notothenioidei with a primarily non-Antarctic distribution, the other being Bovichtidae. [8] The congoli is the only species in its genus and family. [4]

The genus name Pseudoaphritis is a compound of pseudo which means “false” and aphritis, a name which dates back to Aristotle, who used it for a type of anchovy or whitebait. Valenciennes originally used Aphritis as the name of the genus but this name was unavailable as Pierre Andre Latreille had used it for a fly genus Aphritis in 1804. Lev Berg proposed a replacement name, Phricus but this was a synonym of Castelnau's earlier Pseudaphritis. the specific name honours the explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, leader of the Astrolabe expedition (1826- 1829), in the course of which type was collected. Gerorges Cuvier's Eleginus bursinus is a senior synonym of Pseudaphritis urvillii but has been disregarded due to the prevailing usage of P. urvillii. [9]

Distribution and habitat

The congolli is found in fresh, brackish and marine waters around south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, and is endemic to Australia. It lives mostly in slow-moving waters of estuaries, rivers and streams. [5] Water temperatures in its habitat range from 5 to 20 °C (41 to 68 °F). This fish will inhabit areas with log snags, overhanging banks, and leaf litter. [10]

Between late April and August, it migrates south to estuaries and sea to breed. [11] [12]

In 2017, congolli were recorded in five rivers on Kangaroo Island in South Australia for the first time, thanks to a project conducted by Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) and carried out by a number of citizen science volunteers. [13]

Tupongs have made a recovery in the Glenelg River in south-western Victoria, after years of absence. [14]

Description

The congolli is a slender, mottled fish, with a silvery-white underside. Its head is slightly flattened, with eyes positioned towards the top and the snout is pointed. It has two separate dorsal fins. [5] The colour varies according to where it lives: it may be bluish, purplish or reddish-brown, marbled with greenish-brown above, and a yellowish white to silvery colour below. Juvenile fish have black saddles on their dorsal surfaces. [10]

The largest adult measured is about 36 centimetres (14 in) long. Usually, adults grow up to 17 centimetres (6.7 in) long. [11]

Diet

The congolli is a carnivorous ambush predator, and feeds on insects (especially in freshwater), fish, crustaceans (especially in estuaries), worms, molluscs, and other invertebrates. [10] [11] [12]

Behaviour

The congolli is an ambush predator that usually buries itself in the substrate. [11]

Reproduction

Congolli are catadromous – they live in freshwater habitats as adults, and migrate downstream to estuaries to spawn. [10] Adults migrate south to estuaries reproduce between late April and August. [11] [12] The larvae are carried out to sea, and slowly move upstream as they grow; the larger adults live furthest upstream. [10]

Importance to humans

Aboriginal peoples living in the area used to eat Congolli, and the flesh is today considered "excellent eating". However the fish are rarely large enough and no longer important in commercial fishing, although once a minor part of lower Murray fisheries. [10]

Related Research Articles

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

Flathead may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flathead (fish)</span> Common name for several species of fish

A flathead is one of a number of small to medium fish species with notably flat heads, distributed in membership across various genera of the family Platycephalidae. Many species are found in estuaries and the open ocean in the Indo-Pacific, especially most parts of Australia where they are popular sport and table fish. Flathead can grow at least 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length and 18 kilograms (40 lb) in weight, with dusky flathead being the biggest, although fish this size are seldom caught.

<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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notothenioidei</span> Suborder of fishes

Notothenioidei is one of 19 suborders of the order Perciformes. The group is found mainly in Antarctic and Subantarctic waters, with some species ranging north to southern Australia and southern South America. Notothenioids constitute approximately 90% of the fish biomass in the continental shelf waters surrounding Antarctica.

<i>Aplodactylus</i> Genus of fishes

Aplodactylus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as marblefishes or sea carps. It is the only genus in the monogeneric family, Aplodactylidae. The fishes in this genus are found in the south eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean.

The Bathydraconidae, or the Antarctic dragonfishes, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes, notothenioids belonging to the Perciform suborder Notothenioidei. The family comprises four genera. These fishes are endemic to deep waters off Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bovichtidae</span> Family of fishes

Bovichtidae, the temperate icefishes or thornfishes, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes, classified in the suborder Notothenioidei of the order Perciformes. They are native to coastal waters off Australia, New Zealand, and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flathead grey mullet</span> Species of fish

The flathead grey mullet is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically 30 to 75 centimetres. It is known with numerous English names, including the flathead mullet, striped mullet, black mullet, bully mullet, common mullet, grey mullet, sea mullet and mullet, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific staghorn sculpin</span> Species of fish

The Pacific staghorn sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Lepidocottus.

<i>Galaxias</i> Genus of fishes

Galaxias is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Galaxiidae, and are frequently referred to as the galaxiids. These highly adaptable fish are typically found at temperate latitudes across the Southern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenelg River (Victoria)</span> River in Victoria and South Australia

The Glenelg River, a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Australian states of Victoria and South Australia.

<i>Platycephalus</i> Genus of fishes

Platycephalus is a genus of mostly marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. They are found in the eastern Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetraroginae</span> Subfamily of fishes

Tetraroginae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, commonly known as waspfishes or sailback scorpionfishes, belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are native to the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific. As their name suggests, waspfishes are often venomous; having poison glands on their spines. They are bottom-dwelling fish, living at depths to 300 metres (980 ft). These creatures usually live in hiding places on the sea bottom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artedidraconidae</span> Family of fishes

The Artedidraconidae, barbeled plunderfishes, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes, notothenioids belonging to the Perciform suborder Notothenioidei. The family comprises four genera. These fishes are endemic to deep waters off Antarctica.

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

The Patagonian blennie, also known as the rock cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the monotypic family Eleginopidae and monotypic genus Eleginops. It is found in coastal and estuarine habitats around southernmost South America.

<i>Cymbacephalus</i> Genus of fishes

Cymbacephalus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Platycephalidae, the flatheads. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific region.

<i>Bovichtus</i> Genus of fishes

Bovichtus is a genus of fish in the family Bovichtidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean.

The flathead congoli is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Bovichtidae, the thornfishes or temperate icefishes. It is native to the seas off southeastern Australia. This species is the only known member of its genus.

References

  1. Bice, C.; Gilligan, D. & Koehn, J. (2019). "Pseudaphritis urvillii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T122913501A123382361. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T122913501A123382361.en . Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675 . Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Pseudaphritidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Pseudaphritis urvilli" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
  5. 1 2 3 "Pseudaphritis urvillii". Fishes of Australia. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  6. Last, PR; et al. (2002). "Halaphritis platycephala (Notothenioidei: Bovichtidae): A New Genus and Species of Temperate Icefish from Southeastern Australia". Copeia. 2002 (2): 433–440. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[0433:hpnban]2.0.co;2.
  7. Thomas J. Near; Ava Ghezelayagh; F. Patricio Ojeda; Alex Dornburg (2019). "Recent diversification in an ancient lineage of Notothenioid fishes (Bovichtus: Notothenioidei)". Polar Biology. 42 (5): 943–952. doi:10.1007/s00300-019-02489-1. S2CID   85455434.
  8. Eastman, Joseph (1993). "Pseudaphritidae". Antarctic Fish Biology: Evolution in a Unique Environment. Academic Press Inc. San Diego, California. ISBN   978-0122281402.
  9. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 April 2021). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Notothenoididei: Families Bovichtidae, Pseaudaphritidae, Elegopinidae, Nototheniidae, Harpagiferidae, Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae and Percophidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pseudaphritis urvillii". fishes of Australia. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2015). "Pseudaphritis urvillii" in FishBase . January 2015 version.
  12. 1 2 3 "Species: Pseudaphritis urvillii (Congolli)". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  13. "Congolli (Pseudaphritis urvillii) discovered in five freshwater rivers across Kangaroo Island". Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  14. Johnson, Sian (24 February 2021). "Australian grayling found in Glenelg River after 'vanishing' a century ago". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 February 2021.

Further reading