|
Freshwater Fish of Victoria - Pigmy Perches | FN0079 |
Charles Barnham PSM
May, 1998 |  |
To view the Adobe Acrobat file, you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader. |  PDF 144 kb | |
Family:
Kuhliidae
General characteristics:
A medium-sized mouth with bands of fine teeth. The lateral line is clearly divided into two parts. The single dorsal fin is deeply notched between the spiny and soft sections)
Common Name:
Southern Pigmy Perch
Other Name/s:
Nil
Scientific Name:
Nannoperca australis (Gunther, 1861)
Status:
Native
Description
Large head, with rounded snout. Moderate sized eye high on the side of the head. Oblique mouth, gape extends back past the rear of the eye. Body covered with scales, snout and lower jaw bare. Back colouration is dark golden-brown to greenish, lighter lower body. Black or drown blotches occur along the sides. A large, slightly concave to rounded tail. Dark brown-black spots form two indistinct horizontal bands along the body, one above, one below the lateral line, the lower band continuing through the eye.
Distribution
Widespread throughout Victoria, being more abundant south of the Great Dividing Range. Reasonably common and abundant in some areas.
Habitat
Frequents weedy slow-flowing or still waters such as lakes, dams, billabongs and irrigation channels, or the slow-flowing areas of stream edges where aquatic vegetation is present in small creeks and backwaters of larger rivers.
Brief Biology
Known to attain more than 8 cm, it seldom exceeds 6.5 cm. Breeding season is September-October when water temperatures reach 16 to 21oC. Females can lay between 500 and 4,000 eggs, which are scattered randomly over the bottom, adhering to rocks and vegetation. Observation suggest that females may spawn several times during a season. Males defend territory in which eggs are laid. Carnivorous, with major dietary items being insect larvae and small crustaceans.
Other Notes
Eaten by large predatory native and introduced species. It has been suggested that distribution may have been affected by predation and/or competition with introduced fish species. Good species for mosquito control.
Common Name:
Yarra Pigmy Perch
Other Name/s:
Nil
Scientific Name:
Edelia obscura (Klunzinger, 1872)
Status:
Native, Potentially Threatened
Yarra Pigmy Perch is listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Under this legislation, the taking, possession or trading of Yarra Pigmy Perch is prohibited without a permit, license of Governor-in-Council Order issued under the Act. Departmental research and management activities have been authorised by a Governor-in-Council Order.
Description
Large head with pointed snout. Moderate sized eye positioned high on the side of the head. Small oblique mouth. Body covered in scales. Upper body colouration is olive-green or greyish, greenish-brown along the sides, with a yellowish-white belly. Scale margins are dark. Dark spots occur on the body and at the base of the tail. Fins are clear, fawn to orange, often with dark borders. Several dark, rearward pointing chevron-type markings on the front half of the body.
Distribution
Southern Victoria from Dandenong Creek west to the Victorian - South Australian border.
Habitat
Prefers slow-flowing or still waters with abundant aquatic vegetation, in lakes and small creeks. It has been collected from brackish waters.
Brief Biology
Maximum size known to be 7.5 cm. Little is known of its biology. Spawning occurs during September-October. Carnivorous, feeding on small invertebrates.
Other Notes
Commonly found with Nannoperca australis. Good species for mosquito control. Distribution may have been affected by predation/competition from introduced species.
Common Name:
Variegated Pigmy Perch
Other Name/s:
Ewens pigmy perch
Scientific Name:
Nannoperca variegata (Kuiter and Allen, 1986)
Status:
Native, Endangered
Variegated Pigmy Perch is listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Under this legislation, the taking, possession or trading of Variegated Pigmy Perch is prohibited without a permit, license of Governor-in-Council Order issued under the Act. Departmental research and management activities have been authorised by a Governor-in-Council Order.
Description
As for Nannoperca australis, except there are no scales behind the eyes on the nape of the head. Colour is reddish-orange, golden mid-lateral band. Rows of brown blotches along the sides. A broad band in front of the eye to the snout.
Distribution
Restricted to several fresh water tributaries of the Glenelg River in south-western Victoria.
Habitat
Small shallow creeks, fast flowing with abundant aquatic vegetation. Seems to have a preference for well-oxygenated streams.
Brief Biology
As for Nannoperca australis. Maximum size 7 cm, little is yet known of its biology.
Other Notes
Little information is available on its distribution, but it may have been affected by predation/competition from exotic species and introduction of Golden Perch into the Glenelg River basin.
Freshwater Fish of Victoria
is a series of brief information material on the native and introduced freshwater fish of Victoria's inland waters. Further, detailed reading on Pigmy Perches is contained in:
Freshwater Fishes of South-Eastern Australia
R M McDowall (Ed.)
A Guide to the Freshwater Fish of Victoria
Phillip Cadwallader & Gary Backhouse,
Department of Conservation and Environment
Australian Freshwater Fishes
John R. Merrick & Gunther E. Schmida
Biological Information for Management of Native Freshwater Fish in Victoria
J D Koehn, W G O'Connor
FOV #40 - Pigmy Perches
Prepared with the assistance of Gary Backhouse, Phillip Cadwallader, Tarmo Raadik and Steve Saddlier.
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its officers do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.
|
