The Fortescue grunter (''Leiopotherapon aheneus'') is a species of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, a grunter from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Terapontidae Grunters or tigerperches are ray-finned fishes in the Family (biology), family Terapontidae (also spelled Teraponidae, Theraponidae or Therapontidae). This family is part of the Superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Percoidea of the Order (biology ...

. It is endemic to rivers in Western Australia.

Description

The Fortescue grunter has a moderately deep, slightly compressed oval body with convex dorsal profile and a largely straight ventral profile. It has an oblique mouth, which reaches as far as the level of the front of the eye. The upper and lower jaws are equipped with conical teeth with the outer row being enlarged and there are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. The body is covered in finely

ctenoid A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as ...

and there is a continuous, smoothly curved

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

is continuous, the spiny part contains 11-13 spines and is arched with the fifth spine being the longest, the spines behind that decreasing in size. There are 8-9 soft rays in the dorsal fin and the longest of these are shorter than longest dorsal spines. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 3 spines and 8-9 rays. The

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is emarginate. They are bronze in colour with the young fish having vertical bars. The colour is brown to blackish and there may be 10-15 fine, wavy lines along the body. The intensity of the colour varies between river systems. The head is dark above and paler below. The caudal fin is darker towards the base and slightly dusky along its edge, particularly on the upper lobe. The fins on the body can be clear to dusky in pigment.

Distribution

The Fortescue grunter is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and has been recorded from the Ashburton River to the upper reaches of the

Fortescue River The Fortescue River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the third longest river in the state. Course The river rises near Deadman Hill in the Ophthalmia Range about 30 km south of Newman. The river fl ...

Habitat and biology

Adult Fortescue grunters are found rocky pools and the slow-flowing sections of streams, as well as in schools at the base of small waterfalls. It is an omnivore and small prawns and juvenile fishes have been recorded in its diet. The male fish guard and fan the eggs.

Usage

The Fortescue grunter has some commercial value as an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

pet.

Conservation

The Forescue grunter is classified as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. The main threats are the degradation of the drainage systems by overgrazing, pollution from mining and introduced alien specs such as mollies and the crayfish ''

Cherax quadricarinatus ''Cherax quadricarinatus'' (known by several common names, including Australian red claw crayfish, Queensland red claw, redclaw, tropical blue crayfish, freshwater blueclaw crayfish) is an Australian freshwater crayfish. Distribution and ecol ...

''.

Species description and etymology

The Fortescue grunter was first formally described as ''Therapon aheneus'' in 1963 by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Gerlof Mees Gerlof Fokko Mees (16 June 1926 – 31 March 2013) was a Dutch ichthyologist, ornithologist and museum curator. During 1946 to 1949 he took part as a conscript in the military actions to reestablish rule in the Dutch East Indies. During that time h ...

(1926-2013) with the type locality given as Millstream Pool. Western Australia. The specific name ''aheneus'' refers to the bronze colour shown by this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q309004 Fortescue grunter Freshwater fish of Western Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fortescue grunter