Bloomfield River cod
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| Guyu wujalwujalensis Pusey & Kennard, 2001 |
The Bloomfield River Cod (Guyu wujalwujalensis) is a very small fish in the Guyu genus and the Percichthyidae family that is only found in an 11 kilometre stretch of the Bloomfield River (between two large waterfalls) in North Queensland, Australia. These waterfalls appear to have blocked the migration of more aggressive tropical freshwater fish species such as the Sooty Grunter (Hephaestus fuliginosus) that have presumably naturally displaced the Bloomfield River Cod from its former range in pre-historical times. With its very limited distribution, the Bloomfield River Cod is clearly a relic species. It is a very important relic species however as it is the most northerly distributed Percichthyid species in Australia, and raises interesting questions on the biogeography of Percichthyid fish in Australia and the history of their ancient colonisation of Australian rivers.
The species name wujalwujalensis comes from the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal community on the Bloomfield River, and the genus name Guyu comes from the tribe's name for this fish. Bloomfield River Cod are the only species in the Guyu genus.
While named after the Cod species that are the most famous members of the Percichthyidae family (eg Murray Cod), the Bloomfield River Cod have little resemblance to the Cod species. In fact, it is very similar in shape and appearance to a juvenile Golden Perch in a gold/light bronze colouration.
[edit] References
- Guyu wujalwujalensis (TSN 641888). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 11 March 2006.
- "Guyu wujalwujalensis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
