''Atherinosoma microstoma'', commonly known as the small mouth hardyhead, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
silverside
Silverside may refer to:
* Silverside (beef), a cut of beef
* Silverside (fish), the Atheriniformes, an order of fish
* Agnes Silverside (died 1557), one of the Colchester Martyrs
* USS ''Silversides'', the name of 2 U.S. Navy submarines
* Silver ...
native to southeastern Australia.
It occurs in streams, inland lakes, estuaries and the nearby coastal waters of south-eastern Australia, from
Tuggerah Lakes
The Tuggerah Lakes, a wetland system of three interconnected coastal lagoons, are located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia and comprise Lake Munmorah, Budgewoi Lake and Tuggerah Lake.
History
The area around the Tuggerah L ...
in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
to
Lake George in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, as well as in the
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and
Victoria. This species frequently forms schools and they prefer to be among sea grass beds or other aquatic vegetation.
This species was
described as ''Atherina microstoma'' by Albert Günther of the
British Museum (Natural History)
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
in 1872 with the
type locality given as Tasmania.
Francis de LaPorte de Castelnau used the species he had named as ''Atherinosoma vorax'' as the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
of the genus he called ''
Atherinosoma
''Atherinosoma'' is a genus of silversides from the coastal waters of south-eastern Australia.
Species
The currently recognized species in this genus are:
* ''Atherinosoma elongata'' ( Klunzinger, 1879) (elongated hardyhead)
* ''Atherinosoma mi ...
'' but this was a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
for Günther's ''Atherina microstoma'', which became ''Atherinosoma microstoma''.
References
microstoma
Taxa named by Albert Günther
Fish described in 1861
{{Atheriniformes-stub