''Lepidogalaxias salamandroides'' is a species of small fish of

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 ...

. 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 Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the order Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, i ...

, 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 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 ...

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 Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...

. 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 Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

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 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

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...

s 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 Gerlof Fokko Mees (16 June 1926 – 31 March 2013) was a Dutch ichthyologist, ornithologist and museum curator. During 1946 to 1949 he took part as a conscript in the military actions to reestablish rule in the Dutch East Indies. During that tim ...

.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 The Galaxiidae are a family of mostly small freshwater fish in the Southern Hemisphere. The majority live in Southern Australia or New Zealand, but some are found in South Africa, southern South America, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, and th ...

, but the relationship to those species was in doubt. ''Lepidogalaxias salamandroides'' was eventually placed among the

Osmeriformes The Osmeriformes are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the true or freshwater smelts and allies, such as the galaxiids and noodlefishes; they are also collectively called osmeriforms. They belong to the teleost superorder Protacanthopte ...

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 Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...

. It is sometimes named as the mud minnow, long-finned Galaxias, scaled galaxias, or dwarf pencilfish, however mud minnow usually refers to ''

Galaxiella munda ''Galaxiella munda'' is a species of fish in the family Galaxiidae. It is endemic to inland waters of southwestern Australia, and known as the Western mud minnow. In 1999 the Mud Minnow was not included in the list of threatened species under t ...

''. 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