''Mogurnda clivicola'', commonly known as the Flinders Ranges mogurnda, Flinders Ranges purple-spotted gudgeon, Barcoo, or Bulloo mogurnda, is a central Australian gudgeon of the family

Eleotridae Eleotridae is a family of fish commonly known as sleeper gobies, with about 34 genera and 180 species. Most species are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, but there are also species in subtropical and temperate regions, warmer parts of th ...

Distribution

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabi ...

gudgeons are found in permanent water in an isolated set of spring-fed creeks in the southern

Gammon Ranges Gammon may refer to: People * Archer T. Gammon (1918–1945), United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient * James Gammon (1940–2010), American actor * James Gammon (engraver) (), English engraver * Kendall Gammon (born 1968), Ame ...

National Park in the

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, 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 o ...

outback. These creeks are often in very steep-sided, rocky

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

s. This fish's

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is usually isolated into separate pools and then subject to floods that change the water level by several metres. These fish have also been recorded in samples taken from the Barcoo and Bulloo Rivers in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

away from the main population, in the very different habitat of larger, muddy-bottomed rivers.

Description

Flinders Ranges mogurndas are medium-sized fish, with a maximum

total 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 ...

around 13 cm. They are dark with a fine mottling of dark grey blotches on the upper side with semi-translucent fins. Usually their body is a paler colour underneath. These fish have a series of

burnt orange In optics, orange has a wavelength between approximately 585 and 620 nm and a hue of 30° in HSV color space. In the RGB color space it is a secondary color numerically halfway between gamma-compressed red and yellow, as can be seen in ...

-coloured stripes running backwards down their cheeks looking like warpaint. Roughly around the

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 ...

is a display of burnt orange-coloured spots interspersed with paler spots, with a single darker spot on the

caudal peduncle 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 ...

. Males develop spectacular

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

colours in summer, namely a more brilliant display of orange spots along the side and to the tail. The

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvin ...

and spiny and soft

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 ...

s are edged with a tiny,

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

, blue-white stripe. These stripes are somewhat subtle on most of the fins, but are prominent and eye-catching on the spiny dorsal fin. The males also develop a large amount of fat on the top of their heads, giving them a bulbous appearance. These fish have, in recent times been victims of a dramatic,

piebald A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...

discolouration of unknown origin.

Ecology and behaviour

In the Flinders Ranges, ''M. clivicola'' is the only species of fish found in the rocky pools which they inhabit. They will bask lying on the shallow shelves of deeper rock pools, with their tails to one side. From above, in this position, they closely resemble the fallen gum leaves on the substrate. In the Barcoo River, the species usually co-exists with up to 10 other fish species in the typically mud-bottomed lowland streams of that system. Their predators consist mostly of larger birds. They are presumed to be

ambush predators Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey us ...

Tadpoles A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in ...

, insects, and other

macroinvertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate s ...

probably form a large part of their diet. Breeding and

is a complex ritual spread over days. These fish spawn when the water temperature reaches 20 °C or higher. The males care for the eggs and guard and fan them with their

pectoral 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 ...

s. The males' behaviour becomes quite

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

and aggressive during breeding season. They have been known to chase the other fish around.

References

External links

Photograph

Distribution

Description

Ecology and behaviour

References

External links

Further reading