''Lepidogalaxias salamandroides'' is a species of small fish of
Western Australia. It is the
only member of the family Lepidogalaxiidae and genus ''Lepidogalaxias''.
Common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
s for this fish include salamanderfish and Shannon mudminnow. Although it is not a
lungfish, it resembles lungfish in several respects, including its ability to survive dry seasons by burrowing into the sand. It is on the
IUCN Red List as Endangered.
Morphology
''Lepidogalaxias salamandroides'' is small with females measuring up to 7 cm in length. This species has a slender, elongate and cylindrical body. The colour is brownish-green on the upper parts, silver-speckled and blotched on the sides, very pale below, and the
fin membranes are
transparent. The reddish eyes are fixed, but the fish is able to move its neck in any direction.
Biology
The salamaderfish spawn in winter when water levels are highest.
Females produce 100–400 eggs with a diameter of 1.1–1.3mm, which hatch into bottom-feeder larvae 5.5mm long. Larvae and juveniles grow rapidly to gain fat stores to survive the summer drought period.
Individuals reach up to 5 years of age.
The salamanderfish is carnivorous, mainly feeding on aquatic insect larvae.
Range and habitat
It has a limited distribution in
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
ic pools of water in heathland
peat flats of
southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna.
The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...
, between the
Blackwood
Blackwood may refer to:
Botany
* African blackwood ('' Dalbergia melanoxylon''), a timber tree of Africa
* African blackwood (''Erythrophleum africanum''), ('' Peltophorum africanum'') also Rhodesian blackwood, trees from Africa
* Australian bla ...
and
Kent River
The Kent River is a river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course withou ...
s.
This range is across a distance of 180 kilometres, in an area of
Northcliffe, they are common in this region.
Its habitat is semi-permanent water, small pools and
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
s that may be high in
tannins and acidity (pH 3.0–6.5). They experience a range of water temperatures, daily changes of 16 to 32 degrees Celsius, in pools no deeper than 0.1 metres. The species rests on the bottom of the water using elongated pelvic and rounded caudal fins. These small and shallow pools may contain a population of around 150 individuals, are generally no larger than 600 square metres, and evaporate in the dry seasons. It is also unusual for its ability to survive
desiccation
Desiccation () is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.
...
by burrowing into sand, a process of
aestivation
Aestivation ( la, aestas (summer); also spelled estivation in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and ...
, when the pools it lives in periodically evaporate.
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1961 by
Gerlof Fokko Mees.
[Mees, G. F. 1961. Description of a new fish of the family Galaxiidae from Western Australia. J. Roy. Soc. West. Aust. 44: 33–38.] This author identified the species as belonging to the
Galaxiidae, but the relationship to those species was in doubt. ''Lepidogalaxias salamandroides'' was eventually placed among the
Osmeriformes as a monotypic arrangement, ''Lepidogalaxias'' (Lepidogalaxiidae), in 1991.
This placement has been also challenged, but remains current.
The species is contained in the class
Actinopterygii
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 h ...
, ray-finned fish, and is sometimes given the taxonomic placements as Galaxiidae of the order
Salmoniformes.
It is sometimes named as the mud minnow,
long-finned Galaxias,
scaled galaxias,
or dwarf pencilfish,
however mud minnow usually refers to ''
Galaxiella munda''.
A further list of names refer to ''L. salamandroides'' as salamanderfish of Western Australia, West Australian salamanderfish, salamander fish, salmanderfish, and Shannon mudminnow.
References
*
External links
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1440363, from2=Q15693125, from3=Q15693115, from4=Q22105778, from5=Q22105756
Euteleostei
Monotypic ray-finned fish genera
Freshwater fish of Australia
Vertebrates of Western Australia
Near threatened animals
Fish described in 1961
Taxa named by Gerlof Mees
Endemic fauna of Southwest Australia