SPECIES: Mogurnda clivicola — Flinders Ranges Purple-spotted Gudgeon
CLASSIFICATION: Endangered
In two remote locations of SA and Qld there survives the last of the Flinders Ranges Purple-spotted Gudgeons. A medium-sized freshwater fish that can be up to 15cm when fully grown, it's dark coloured with fine mottling on the sides of its body. Thought to have a lifespan of up to five years, it feeds largely on acquatic insects and microcrustaceans. A female will lay her eggs on the underside of a hard object, which the males will then guard until hatching seven days later. After that, it's survival of the fittest, with no parental care post hatching. Threats include competition from other fish, the loss and degradation of habitat and disease.
Photo: R H Kuiter