The Brisbane River cod was a unique form of ''

Maccullochella ''Maccullochella'' is a genus of large Australian predatory freshwater fish within the family Percichthyidae. The genus ''Maccullochella'' was named after an early Australian fish researcher with the surname ''McCulloch''. The ''Maccullochella' ...

'' cod that occurred naturally in the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

system, an east coast river system in south east

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_ ...

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 ...

. The Brisbane River Cod was known as the Bumgur (meaning blue cod) by the Jinibara people centred in the Kilcoy region and the junction of the Stanley and Brisbane Rivers. Their exact taxonomic status is not known, but based on several genetic studies it is suspected that Brisbane River Cod were a species intermediate between

eastern freshwater cod The eastern freshwater cod (''Maccullochella ikei''), also known as the eastern cod or Clarence River cod, is a large predatory freshwater fish of the genus ''Maccullochella'' and the family Percichthyidae, that occur in the coastal Clarence Rive ...

(''Maccullochella ikei'') of the Clarence River and Richmond River systems in northern New South Wales and

Mary River cod The Mary River cod (''Maccullochella mariensis'') is a species of temperate perch native to the coastal Mary River system of southern Queensland, Australia. Mary River cod are one of Australia's most endangered freshwater fishes and are notab ...

of the Mary River in central Queensland. All naturally occurring ''

'' cod in east coast drainages ultimately originate from Murray cod, ''Maccullochella peelii'' that entered an east coast river system, likely the Clarence, via a natural

river capture Stream capture, river capture, river piracy or stream piracy is a geomorphological phenomenon occurring when a stream or river drainage system or watershed is diverted from its own bed, and flows instead down the bed of a neighbouring stream. T ...

event somewhere between 0.62 and 1.62 million years ago (mean estimate 1.1 million years ago), as estimated by DNA divergence rates. Brisbane River cod are extinct, from

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

, and whole-of-catchment scale

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

and ash

fish kill The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off, refers to a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalized mortality of aquatic life.University of Florida. Gainesville, FL (2005) ''Plant Management in Fl ...

s in the 1930s. The Brisbane River has now been restocked with

from the Mary River system.

References

* Anon. (2004). New South Wales Eastern (Freshwater) Cod (''Maccullochella ikei'') Recovery Plan. New South Wales Department of Fisheries, Port Nelson, New South Wales, Australia. * Bearlin, A.R. and Tikel, D. (2002) Conservation genetics of Murray-Darling Basin fish: Silver perch (''Bidyanus bidyanus''), Murray cod (''Maccullochella peelii''), and Trout cod (''M. macquariensis''). In: Managing Fish Translocation and Stocking in the Murray-Darling Basin (workshop proceedings), Canberra, 25–26 September 2002. World Wildlife Fund, Sydney. * Jerry, D.R., Elphinstone, M.S and Baverstock, P.R. (2001) Phylogenetic Relationships of Australian Members of the Family Percichthyidae Inferred from Mitochondrial 12S rRNA Sequence Data. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 18: 335–347. * Nock C.J., Elphinstone M.S., Rowland S.J. and Baverstock, P.R. (2010). Phylogenetics and revised taxonomy of the Australian freshwater cod genus, ''Maccullochella'' (Percichthyidae). ''Marine and Freshwater Research'' 61: 980–991. * Rowland, S.J. (1993) ''Maccullochella ikei'', an endangered species of freshwater cod (Pisces: Percichthyidae) from the Clarence River System, NSW, and ''M. peelii mariensis'', a new subspecies from the Mary River System, QLD. ''Records of the Australian Museum'' ''45:'' 121–145. {{Taxonbar, from=Q4968605 Percichthyidae Brisbane River Undescribed vertebrate species Fish extinctions since 1500