Draft only. The Freshwater Fishes. of Australia 1. Gunther Schmida

Transcription

1 Draft only The Freshwater Fishes The concept, text, lay-out and all images contained in this publication are by Gunther Schmida and protected by copyright. of Australia 1 Gunther Schmida

2 The Freshwater Fishes of Australia 1 Lampreys to Garfish Gunther Schmida Southern Saratoga Scleropages leichardti - Dawson River - C Qld.

3 Murray Cod Maccullochella p. peeli Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Lampreys Sharks, Rays & Sawfishes Freshwater Sawfish - Pristis microdon 100 cm - Adelaide River - NT Australian Lungfish Southern Graylings & Smelts Saratogas Galaxias & Salamanderfish Freshwater & One-gilled Eels Longtoms & Gars Herrings & kin Glossary Fork-tailed & Eel-tailed Catfishes Further reading

4 Preface Freshwater fish have been a much neglected part of Australia s fauna for many years. Only the species appreciated by anglers, food connoisseurs or keepers of ornamental fish were better known. Even today most people consider freshwater fish to be drab and boring by comparison to marine species. They are neither, and it is hoped that this series of e-books will bury this myth once and for all. Australian freshwater fish, especially the ones suitable for fish keeping, have been my passion for over 40 years. Almost as long ago as I decided to keep, breed and study Australian freshwater fish, I also commenced photographing them in the best possible way. As this is not possible in the wild for various reasons, all images on these pages were taken in as natural settings as possible, in aquaria meeting the requirements of the many species. Freshwater fish literature was scarce back then and most wildlife books ignored these aquatic creatures altogether, or did not show them in a natural way. Things have changed for the better since, but this e-book is the first where the author can claim to actually have had at least some first hand experience with all living subjects shown on these pages. Lesser Salmon Catfish Neoarius graeffei - 40 cm SL - Brisbane River - SE-Qld. Even so it would not have been possible to provide the current knowledge contained herein without the detailed work of many scientists and dedicated amateurs in this field, who were prepared to share their knowledge. This volume deals with some of the largest, most ancient and most interesting fishes in Australia s diverse freshwater habitats. It does not deal with fishing or fish keeping however, even though quite a lot was learned from these activities. It is designed to be up-dated and up-graded whenever new information or better images become available.

5 Acknowledgements: No work of this kind could ever be undertaken without the help of many other like-minded and generous people. For sharing their knowledge, providing specimens and assisting in the field I would like to very much thank everyone involved. Special thanks are due to: Steve & Aimee Brooks Adrian & Fran Dawson Dr. Bruce Hansen Leo O Reilly and Dave & Robyn Wilson As well as: Terry & Michelle Adams Glynn Aland Sean Alanson Dr Gerald Allen Neil Armstrong Gary Backhouse Steve Baines Dr. Chris Barlow Glenn Briggs Dr. Danny Brown Andrew Bruce Dr. Philip Cadwallader Keryn Cobden Eng Chua Rob Carroll John Davies Peter Ford Dr. Dean Gilligan Peter Graham Dr. Mike Hammer Dr. Brett Herbert Dr. Doug Hoese Charlotte Jenkins Brendan Johnson Lawrie Kirk Ken Kirkness Peter Kraus Bob Kroll Dr. Helen Larson Andrew Lo Ray Leggett Glenn Leiper Brian McGregor Charles Niautou Gavin Rich Dr. John Paxton Robert Pulvirenti Dean Sampson Bruce Sambell Ken Shaw Paul Smith Gary Stephenson Peter Unmack Adrian Tappin Graham Walker and Michael J. Young Honey Blue-eyes Pseudomugil mellis - Sparring males - 3 cm SL Southern Saratoga Scleropages leichardti snatching an insect from the water s surface. Many thanks are also due to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, NSW, Queensland & Victorian Fishery Departments, ERIS in the Northern Territory and the many scientists who published the results of their research over many years. Additional thanks are due to all who offered suggestions and pointed out errors, especially Glenn Leiper who proof read all. All distribution maps are courtesy of Dave Wilson.

6 Introduction Apart from Antarctica, Australia is considered to be the driest continent on earth and it is the smallest. A huge island that until fairly recently was connected with New Guinea and is located on the same tectonic plate which separated from the other landmasses some 50 million years ago, then drifted slowly to its present position on the planet. It is therefore not surprising that both have similar wildlife, especially freshwater fishes. Compared to other continents with tropical or mild climates, Australia s fish fauna can only be called impoverished. Depending on what is considered to be a freshwater fish, there are only between 200 and 300 species in Australian freshwater habitats and only four are believed to be primary freshwater fishes, species which evolved in freshwater. The reminder are descendants of marine fishes which adapted to a permanent life here and are therefore called secondary freshwater fishes. Some species still move between these different habitats to reproduce. Although the Australian freshwater fish fauna does not consist of many different species, these are none the less interesting. There are three main groups. The somewhat eel-like lampreys are jawless, and believed to be very primitive fishes. Sharks, rays and sawfish have skeletons consisting of cartilage, whilst in all other fishes this is made of bone. 3 year old Queensland Lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri 40 cm TL - Captive reared from egg Fishes with bony skeletons are the most diverse group of all backboned animals.

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8 Lungfishes Order: Dipteriformes Lungfishes are an ancient order which first evolved about 400 million years ago and also occurred in marine environments all around the world. From about 340 million years ago onwards they only lived in freshwater. The Queensland Lungfish is believed to be the oldest survivor, dating back unchanged for over 100 million years. There are six living species, four in Africa, one in South America and the Australian one. Australian Lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri adult - Brisbane River - Qld.

9 Queensland Lungfish Family: Ceratodontidae Genus:Neoceratodus Species: forsteri (Krefft 1870 Type locality: Burnett River - SE-Qld. Max. Size: 1.8 metres - 40 kg Burnett River Mary River Brisbane & Pine Rivers Coomera River SE-Qld. Queensland Lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri - 70 cm TL - Mary River - SE-Qld. Habitat - Brisbane River

10 Queensland Lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri Introduction: The aboriginal population of the Wide-Bay district in SE-Qld. knew the fish as Djellah (or Djelleh) and Theebine. The European settlers called it the Burnett River Salmon, not for its taste but rather for the colour of its flesh. It was settler William McCord from Coonambula Station, near the town of Mundubberra on the Burnett River, who in 1869 sent two salted carcasses of lungfish to his cousin William Forster, then a minister in the colony of NSW. Forster passed the fish on to Gerard Krefft, the curator of the museum in Sydney. This was possibly done because Krefft had doubted earlier reports about such a creature. When he saw the fish, Krefft realized immediately that they were something special. He also recognized the similarities between the tooth plates of his newly acquired creatures with fossil tooth plates described as Ceratodus by Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz 32 years earlier - who had believed them to be shark teeth. Krefft adopted the genetic name Ceratodus for the Australian find and named it in honour of William Forster, but despite its large scales, believed it to be an amphibian - which are scaleless. In the description he also included details which must have originated from the supplier of the specimens and do not apply to lungfish at all, but rather to the Saratoga, Scleropages leichardti, a species not occurring in the Burnett River, but rather in the Fitzroy River catchment to the north. The description of the Australian Lungfish created a lot of interest in the scientific community of the time which was looking for the missing link in the chain of evolution, a link between aquatic fish and four-legged land animals. For 30 years the anatomy of lungfish was investigated thoroughly, and they were deemed to be fish at the beginning of that time. One year old and 23 cm long. Growth has slowed down, but is still much faster then originally assumed. In contrast to the other species, the Australian one has one lung only, which is basically a modified swim bladder. It also looks quite different. The other species are more eel-like, their pectoral and ventral fins reduced to thin appendages. Their scales are also not as obvious as in the Australian species, rather they are deeply embedded in the outer skin layer. There were once many Australian species and they lived in a much wetter environments all over the continent. Some were much larger then the surviving species. In recent times more research has been undertaken in Australia to establish where this interesting creature really belongs in the animal kingdom.

11 Queensland Lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri Features: Lungfish can hardly be confused with any other Australian freshwater fish. The body is cigar shaped with fleshy, paddle-like pectoral and ventral fins. A finseam surrounds the entire muscular tail, very much like in an eel or eel-tailed catfish. The top of the skull and almost the entire body are covered with large bony scales. The fish is covered with mucus which makes it very slimy and therefore difficult to handle during rescue operations. Distribution: Naturally occurring in the Burnett & Mary Rivers and their tributaries in SE-Queensland. They may also be native to the Brisbane River system, but as fish from the Mary were introduced there, as well as into some other rivers, in the late 19th century, the origin of the Brisbane River fish is somewhat unclear. Today they still do occur in the Pine River, as well as Enoggera Creek, and their presence in the Coomera was recently confirmed. Introductions to the Logan and Condamine Rivers have failed. Habitat: Usually found in the larger and deeper sections of the rivers they inhabit, but moving to shallower parts with submerged aquatic vegetation to feed. As they also seem to be quite successful in dams, water conditions may be secondary. In most areas the water is rather hard and neutral to alkaline but they are known to occur in at least one stream with very soft and acidic water. Temperatures & water conditions: 15 to 30 C. Hardness & ph values not critical as long as they are not extreme. Sensory pores on snout and the head of a lungfish Diet: Omnivorous, feeds on aquatic plants, mussels, shrimp & crayfish. Although not fast enough to catch moving fish, sleeping ones have been eaten in aquariums at night. The sense of smell is well developed. Recent studies have shown that they are also capable of detecting minute electric currents emitted by live prey.

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23 Further reading: Allen, G.R., S.H. Midgley, M. Allen (2002) Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia, WA Museum, Perth. Allen, G. R., (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Australia, TFH Publ., New Jersey. Allen, G. R., (1982) A Field guide to the Inland Fishes of Western Australia, WA Museum, Perth. Cadwallader, P.L., G.N. Backhouse (1983) A Guide to the freshwater Fishes of Victoria, Victorian Government Printing Office, Melbourne. Herbert, B., J. Peeters (1995) Freshwater Fishes of Far north Queensland, DPI Qld., Brisbane. Larsen, H.K, K.C. Martin (1989) Freshwater Fishes of the Northern Territory, NT Museum, Darwin. Leggett, R., J.R.Merrick (!987) Australian Native Fishes for Aquariums, J.R. Merrick Publ., Artamon. Lintermans, M. (2007) Fishes of the Murray-Darling Basin, MDB Commission, Canberra. McDonald, R. Ed. (1996) Freshwater Fishes of South- Eastern Australia, Reed books, Chatswood. Merrick, G.R., G.E. Schmida (1984) Australian Freshwater Fishes Biology & Management, J.R. Merrick, North Ryde. Pusey, B., M. Kennard, A. Arthington (2004) Freshwater Fishes of North-Eastern Australia, CSIRO Publ., Collingwood. Schmida, G. (2000) Rainbowfish, Barron s Educational Series, Inc., Hauppage, NY. Northern Saratoga Scleropages jardinii sub-adult 30 cm SL Adelaide River - NT Schmida, G. (2008) A Wild Australia Guide - Freshwater Fishes, Steve Parish Publ., Archerfield. Wager, R., P. Unmack (2000) Fishes of the Lake Eyre catchment of central Australia, DPI Qld., Brisbane.

24 This is a work in progress. Changes may be made to the overall design before release. The condensed version Is available in all good book stores, or by contacting the above address.