Pacific blue-eye
| Pacific blue-eye | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | P. signifer
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudomugil signifer Kner, 1865
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Atherina signata Günther, 1867 | |
The Pacific blue-eye (Pseudomugil signifer) is a species of fish in the family Pseudomugilidae. It is a common fish of rivers and estuaries of eastern Australia.[1]
Austrian naturalist Rudolf Kner described the species in 1866,[2] from a specimen collected in Sydney and taken to Vienna by the SMS Novara in 1858.[3] Albert Günther described Atherina signata from collections in Cape York in 1867.[1] William Sharp Macleay named a "curious little fish", collected from the Bremer River, a tributary of the Brisbane River, by one Mr Jameson of Ipswich, Atherinosoma jamesonii in 1884, which was later classified as the same species by James Douglas Ogilby in 1908.[3] Variable across its range, the Pacific blue-eye is considered to be a single species, though has been split by some into northern signata and southern signifer, with the former found from Ross River northwards and the southern from the Calliope River south. The division occurs at a biogeographic dividing point known as the Burdekin Gap.[1]
Alternate names include southern blue-eye and northern blue-eye.[4] Species from the northern and southern extremes of the range do not appear to interbreed in captivity, suggesting that there may be two separate species within the current concept of the species.[5]
Generally around 3–3.5 cm (1.2–1.4 in) long, males can reach 8.8 cm and females 6.3 cm in length. The elongate body is partly transparent and pale yellow or olive with a silver operculum and belly. The eye is large and has a blue iris.[1]
The Pacific blue-eye is found from the Rocky River in Cape York down to as far south as Narooma in southern New South Wales. It lives in small, generally slow moving, streams to estuaries, as well as dune lagoons and salt marshes. It is also found in brackish and marine waters on some Queensland offshore islands such as Hinchinbrook Island, Lizard Island, Low Island and Dunk Island. It has been recorded as far as 300 km upstream in the Mary and Dawson Rivers in Queensland.[1]
The Pacific blue-eye is found in loose schools of hundreds to thousands of fish.[1]
Female Pacific blue-eyes are sexually mature at six months of age. The life span of the species is around 1–2 years in the wild, and around 2–3 years in aquariums, though some males may reach 4 years of age.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Brad Pusey, Mark Kennard, Angela Arthington, ed. (2004). Freshwater Fishes of North-Eastern Australia. Collingwood, Victoria: Csiro Publishing. pp. 254–68. ISBN 9780643098954.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ Kner, Rudolf (1866). "Specielles Verzeichniss der während der Reise der kaiserlichen Fregatte "Novara" gesammelten Fische. III. und Schlussabtheilung" (PDF). Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaften (in German). 53: 543–50.
- ^ a b Saunders, Brian (2012). Discovery of Australia's Fishes: A History of Australian Ichthyology to 1930. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 213. ISBN 9780643106727.
- ^ McGrouther, Mark (30 June 2014). "Pacific Blue Eye, Pseudomugil signifer Kner, 1865". Nature, Culture, Discover. Australian Museum. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ Tappin, Adrian R. (May 2013). "Pseudomugil signifer". Home of the Rainbowfish. ANGFA Qld. Retrieved 8 March 2015.