The sooty grunter (''Hephaestus fuliginosus''), also known by the name black bream, blubberlips, Northern grunter or purple grunter, is a species of freshwater

ray-finned fish 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 ...

, a grunter from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Terapontidae Grunters or tigerperches are ray-finned fishes in the Family (biology), family Terapontidae (also spelled Teraponidae, Theraponidae or Therapontidae). This family is part of the Superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Percoidea of the Order (biology ...

. It inhabits coastal and inland freshwater creeks and rivers of northern Australia.

Description

The sooty grunter is a relatively large species of grunter which is brownish-grey to sooty-black grunter with darker scale margins, although some specimens may show golden blotches on the sides. The juveniles possess dark blotches on the

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 ...

and the soft-rayed part of the

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 ...

. There is a discontinuous lip fold on the ventral side of the lower mandible. As they grow some individuals develop thick, fleshy lips. They have a moderately deep body which is oblong to oval in shape, laterally compressed and a dorsal profile which bulges between the nape and the start of the dorsal fin. It has an oblique mouth with the maxillary reaching the level of the front edge of the eye in young birds but as the fish grows the gap between the eye and the maxillary increases. The teeth are conical and a little recurved in shape and are arranged in bands, with those in the outer rows the largest. There are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. They have a continuous dorsal fin which contains 11-12 spines and 12-14 soft rays, the spiny part is arched with the fifth to seventh spines the longest, the rays are longer than the spines.. The anal fin contains 3 spines and 8-10 soft rays. The

caudal 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 ...

is marginate. They have been recorded to have attained a maximum

fork 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 m ...

of , although they more commonly have a standard length of around ; the maximum weight of .

Distribution

The sooty grunter is

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 northern Australia from the upper

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea a ...

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_ ...

to the Daly River 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 ...

It has been reported from southern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. although this refers to an undescribed species but it is absent from the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

. It has been widely translocated within Australia.

Habitat and biology

Sooty grunters inhabit large flowing freshwater streams, preferring rapidly flowing waters with a rocky bottom and sparse aquatic plant cover. The species can tolerate acidic conditions to a pH of 4.0 and temperatures between 12 and 34 °C. It is an

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

species which has been recorded feeding on frogs, insects, worms, crustaceans, algae, plant roots and palm berries. They

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

during the summer as the water levels rise as a result of the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

, they may spawn in groups. The males guard and fan the eggs after fertilisation.

Fisheries

Sooty grunters are a regarded as a good angling fish. In Queensland there is a bag limit of 10 specimens.

Species description and etymology

The sooty grunter was first formally described as ''Therapon fuliginosus'' in 1883 by the Scottish-

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 ...

n naturalist

William John Macleay Sir William John Macleay (13 June 1820 – 7 December 1891) was a Scottish-Australian politician, Natural history, naturalist, zoologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. Early life Macleay was born at Wick, Highland, Wick, Caithness, Scotland, ...

with the type locality given as the Upper

in northern Queensland. The specific name ''fuliginosus'', from the Latin word ''fuligo'', "soot", refers to the sooty coloration of the species.

References

External links

Sooty Grunters on youtube
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6397364 Hephaestus (fish) Fish described in 1883