The Lake Eacham rainbowfish (''Melanotaenia eachamensis'') is a species of

rainbowfish The rainbowfish or Melanotaeniidae is a family of small, colourful freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea (including islands in Cenderawasih Bay and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia), Sulawesi and Madagascar. The lar ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Melanotaeniidae The rainbowfish or Melanotaeniidae is a family of small, colourful freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea (including islands in Cenderawasih Bay and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia), Sulawesi and Madagascar. The lar ...

which was thought to be

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 Yidyam (Lake Eacham), Queensland,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

but has proven to have a wider range.

Conservation

The species was thought to be extinct due to predation from native fishes — including the Barred Grunter (''Amniataba percoides'') and

Mouth Almighty ''Glossamia aprion'' is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Apogonidae, the cardinalfishes, from northern Australia and New Guinea. In Australia, it is commonly known as the mouth almighty. Description ''G. aprion'' has a cr ...

(''Glossamia aprion'') — illegally translocated to Lake Eacham in the 1980s. The species was rediscovered in the private collections of

aquarists Fishkeeping is a popular hobby, practiced by aquarists, concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a piscicultural fishkeeping industry, serving as a branch of agriculture. Origins of fishkeeping Fish have ...

and has also been found to have a wider distribution in the Barron and Johnstone River systems. It is listed as Endangered on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

and on the EPBC Act 1999. This species is found in small creeks and crater lakes, congregating along the shallow margins among aquatic vegetation, fallen logs or branches.

References

* Allen, Gerald R.; & Cross, Norbert J. (1982). ''Rainbowfishes of Australia and Papua New Guinea''. Angus & Robertson, Australia.

Lake Eacham rainbowfish The Lake Eacham rainbowfish (''Melanotaenia eachamensis'') is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniidae which was thought to be endemic to Yidyam (Lake Eacham), Queensland, Australia but has proven to have a wider range. Conserv ...

Freshwater fish of Queensland Far North Queensland Vulnerable fauna of Australia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Gerald R. Allen Taxa named by Norbert J. Cross

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