The long-nose sooty grunter (''Hephaestus epirrhinos'') is a species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the family Terapontidae. It 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 ...

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Description

The long-nose sooty grunter is a large elongate species with a distinctively long, slightly concave snout. It has an overall dark greenish-grey body, with scales which have broad blackish margins and golden to bronze centres. The juveniles are overall greenish with irregular vermiculations on the upper flanks and the caudal peduncle. The largest recorded

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

is .

Distribution

The long-nose sooty grunter is endemic to the eastern part of

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

region in

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 ...

where it has been recorded from the Drysdale River and from

King Edward River The King Edward River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The headwaters of the river rise below Poonjurra Hill and flows in a northerly direction almost parallel with the Kalumburu Road and eventually discharges into De ...

Habitat and biology

The long-nose sooty grunter is a freshwater species and as adults they prefer deep pools of slow flowing rivers. It is frequently recorded in the vicinity of snags and overhanging vegetation. They may also be found in the deeper sections of riffles. The juveniles are usually observed in shallow riffles and slower flowing stretches of river. This is a carnivorous species and its diet comprises aquatic insects, crustaceans and fish, although they have been recorded feeding on terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates. Sexual maturity is attained at lengths of around. It is thought that the females lay demersal eggs which are guarded and fanned by the males.

Species description

The long-nose sooty grunter was first formalled described by Richard P. Vari of the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

and

J. Barry Hutchins ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

Western Australia Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-op ...

in 1978 with the type locality given as the Drysdale River.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4847756 long-nose sooty grunter Freshwater fish of Western Australia Kimberley (Western Australia) Taxonomy articles created by Polbot long-nose sooty grunter