The southern saratoga (''Scleropages leichardti''), also known as the spotted bonytongue, spotted saratoga, or simply saratoga, is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...

native to

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 ...

. It belongs to the subfamily

Osteoglossinae Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, also known as bony tongues (the latter name is now often reserved for Arapaiminae). In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy s ...

, or

arowana Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, also known as bony tongues (the latter name is now often reserved for Arapaiminae). In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy sc ...

s, a primitive group of

teleost Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts ), is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, containing 96% of all extant species of fish. Tel ...

s. Like all arowanas, it is a

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

mouthbrooder Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

. Along with the gulf saratoga (''

Scleropages jardinii ''Scleropages jardinii'', the Gulf saratoga, Australian bonytongue , Pearl arowana or northern saratoga, is a freshwater bony fish native to Australia and New Guinea, one of two species of fishes sometimes known as Australian arowana, the other b ...

''), the saratoga is also known as the Australian arowana (mainly by non-Australian aquarists) and barramundi, although the latter name is nowadays reserved in Australia for the unrelated ''

Lates calcarifer The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, South ...

''. This

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

is found in turbid waters and has a more restricted distribution than the other ''Scleropages'' native to Australia, ''

''.

Description

Southern saratoga can grow up to . At sexual maturity, they are usually in length. They are primitive, surface-dwelling fish with strongly compressed bodies. They have an almost perfectly flat back, with a dorsal fin set back towards the tail of their long bodies. In colouration, they are dark brown to olive green along the back, with lighter sides and a white belly. The large, bony scales have small orange or red dots. The lower jaw slopes steeply upwards and carries two fleshy barbels on the chin. Like all ''Scleropages'', ''S. leichardti'' is a long-bodied fish with large scales, large pectoral fins, and small paired

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

s on its lower jaw. Each scale on its dark coloured body has a red or pink spot; this feature distinguishes it from ''S. jardinii'', which has several reddish spots on each scale in a crescent shape. ''S. leichardti'' is a slimmer fish than other ''Scleropages''; a fish was weighed at only , compared to , for a ''S. jardinii'' of similar length. The depth of its body is 23-25% of its Standard Length, and it has fewer fin rays than ''S. jardinii''. It is a popular aquarium fish, although it will eat other fish, shrimp, yabbies etc., that are in the tank.

Distribution and habitat

Southern saratoga are native to the Fitzroy River system.Hollaway, M. and Hamlyn, A. (2001). Freshwater Fishing in Queensland: a guide to stocked waters. Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane. They are commonly found in freshwater impoundments on the Mary, Dawson and Burnett rivers. Stocks have also been introduced to dams on the Brisbane, North Pine and Noosa Rivers. Southern saratoga prefer still waters and slow flowing sections of rivers and can be found sheltering in lily-pads or below fallen timber. They are very aggressive and territorial fish.

Conservation status

This species is not currently listed on any

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

appendix

Its

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 ...

status is Lower Risk/near threatened (LT/nt

Although it does not occur naturally in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, it is a protected species in that country. It has been stocked in a number of dams in

Queensland, Australia ) , 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_ ...

References

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q174075

southern saratoga The southern saratoga (''Scleropages leichardti''), also known as the spotted bonytongue, spotted saratoga, or simply saratoga, is a freshwater bony fish native to Australia. It belongs to the subfamily Osteoglossinae, or arowanas, a primitive gro ...

Freshwater fish of Queensland