The neon blue-eye (''Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis'') or blueback blue-eye, 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

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 ...

Pseudomugilinae The Pseudomugilidae, the blue-eyes, are a subfamily of atheriniform fish in the rainbowfish family Melanotaeniidae. They inhabit fresh and brackish water in Australia, New Guinea and nearby smaller islands. Blue-eyes are small fish, typically n ...

. It is found in northern

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 ...

, in the

Gulf Country The Gulf Country is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah. It ...

, the

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 ...

and around Darwin. First described in 1983, they have become established in the aquarium trade worldwide.

Description

The Neon blue-eye is a small fish, attaining a

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 ...

of . It is a

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

species in which the males are colourful being a metallic blue on their backs, dotted with small black spots, a narrow black stripe along the centre of their flanks separates the blue back from the translucent to yellowish white lower half of their body. There is a small yellowish patch to the rear of the first

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 ...

and dusky leading edges to the fins. The females are plainer being semi-transparent silvery-grey with translucent fins and a white belly.

Distribution

The neon blue-eye is found in northern Australia where it has a disjunct distribution from Crab Creek east of Broome and around Wyndham in Western Australia, in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

they have been recorded between Darwin and the

Cobourg Peninsula The Cobourg Peninsula is located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 to 30 in five ...

, as well as on Melville Island and in the basin of the

Norman River The Norman River is a river in the Gulf Country, Queensland, Australia. The river originates in the Gregory Range 200 km southeast of Croydon and flows 420 km northwest to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is joined by three major tributarie ...

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_ ...

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

coast.

Habitat and biology

The neon blue-eye is a

euryhaline Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. An example of a euryhaline fish is the molly (''Poecilia sphenops'') which can live in fresh water, brackish water, or salt water. The green crab (''Carcinus maenas'') is an e ...

species which can tolerate a wide range of ecological conditions, although it shows a preference for muddy creeks lined with

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

. It can also occur in pure freshwater habitats, especially during the monsoon. In the wild, the neon blue-eye is a seasonal breeder, with

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 ...

usually taking place from October to December. They appear to prefer breeding in groups of multiple males and females, with the males using their dorsal and

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 ...

s to display to the females while actively pursuing them. During display the color of both sexes becomes more intense. Females who are not receptive to breeding avoid the males by swimming near to the surface or by hiding among vegetation. The eggs are scattered among aquatic plants and stick to them by adhesive filaments on their outer coat. The eggs hatch in roughly 12-15 days. This species is mainly a carnivore and they feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects, insect larvae, and small aquatic crustaceans.

Discovery and naming

The neon blue-eye was first discovered by Helen K. Larson in 1981 near Darwin before Neil Sarti found it in Crab Creek near Broome a year later. In 1983 the species was formally described by Gerald R Allen and Neil Sarti in 1983Allen, G.R. & Sarti, N. 1983. Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis, une nouvelle espèce de blue-eye (Melanotaeniidae) d'Australie nord-occidentale. Revue Française d'Aquariologie et Herpétologie 10(2): 47-50 figs 1-4 with Crab Creek given as the type locality.

As an aquarium fish

The neon blue-eye were first made available to the aquarium hobby in Australia in 1982 but a sustainable breeding population did not become established. More wild caught specimens were brought into the hobby in 1986 and from these this species became widely available in the aquarium hobby worldwide.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1874269 neon blue-eye Freshwater fish of the Northern Territory Taxa named by Gerald R. Allen Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis neon blue-eye