Great Lake Darter (Paragalaxias eleotroides)

Scientific name: Paragalaxias eleotroides McDowall & Fulton, 1978

The Great Lake Darter (Paragalaxias eleotroides) is a freshwater fish of the family Galaxiidae. Native range: Oceania, known only from the Central Plateau of Tasmania, Australia.

Biology

Live in rocky shores, among aquatic vegetation, inundated terrestrial scrub and debris. Cryptic. They are benthic, preferring rocky lake margins in shallow water, but also occur to at least 10 meters depth. Found in swampy areas bordering lakes during floods. Remain close to available cover (rocks, wood, plants). Behave like a gudgeon, remaining motionless on the bottom most of the time and darting after prey with rapid bursts. They adopt the typical gudgeon posture of supporting itself with the pectoral fins. Feed on a variety of insects, microcrustaceans, worms, galaxiid eggs and algae. Spawn in spring; sexual maturity is reached after one year, maximum life span is two years.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Paragalaxias eleotroides
Family
Galaxiidae (Galaxiids)
Order
Osmeriformes (Smelts)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
5.9
Common length
4.0
Environment
Freshwater; demersal
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Oceania: known only from the Central Plateau of Tasmania, Australia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=1; tmax=2; Fec=44)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated