Spotted galaxias
Encyclopedia
Introduction
Spotted galaxias (Galaxias truttaceus) are a largish, primarily-freshwater galaxias species found in southern AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Spotted galaxias are perhaps the most beautiful of the Australian galaxias species. They are a somewhat tubular, deep-bodied fish, with a dusky brownish-red colouration overlain with dark, haloed spots, dramatic black edges to dorsal
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
, anal and pelvic fins, and a dark diagonal stripe through the eye.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, all of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, offshore islands in between, as well as south-west Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
On the mainland spotted galaxias is generally recognised as a freshwater fish species with a marine larval phase (larvae are swept out to sea and return to freshwater habitats as early stage juveniles), and thus only found in coastal rivers. Spotted galaxias generally are generally found in coastal rivers in Tasmania as well, however natural landlocked populations do occur in some freshwater lakes in Tasmania.
Spotted galaxias were assumed not to be native to the Murray-Darling river system, however records of native fish fauna compiled by William Blandowski
William Blandowski
Wilhelm Blandowski born Johan Wilhelm Theodor Ludwig von Blandowski January 21, 1822 died December 18, 1878, a German zoologist and mining engineer, was born in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia ....
in the 1850s suggest the species did historically occur in the Murray-Darling river system. This may cause a re-evaluation of the spotted galaxias specimens occasionally recovered in the Murray-Darling river system, which until now were assumed to be accidental translocations via the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme
Snowy Mountains Scheme
The Snowy Mountains scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. It consists of sixteen major dams; seven power stations; a pumping station; and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts and was constructed between 1949 and 1974. The Chief engineer was Sir...
.
Habitat, Diet, Reproduction
Spotted galaxias, in their juvenile and adult stages, inhabit coastal rivers at low to medium altitude. They prefer cool, flowing rivers in forested catchments with excellent riparian vegetation, good water quality and cover in the form of boulders, sunken logs and overhanging banks.Spotted galaxias are a predatory fish, feeding in the currents or "drift" similar to exotic trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
species. Their diet consists mainly of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.
Spawning occurs in winter in rivers. Larvae are swept out to sea and return and migrate back up rivers as early-stage juveniles which initially do not resemble adult fish. Returning juveniles sometimes intercepted by humans as whitebait, and were severely overfished in previous decades. Landlocked lake populations spawn in spring.
Human Use
Before the introduction of exotic troutTrout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
species to Australia, an introduction that has caused severe problems for the conservation of Australian native fish, spotted galaxias were keenly fished for by early Australian anglers using fly-fishing gear. The species was appreciated for its beauty, its willingness to take wet and dry flies, its game fighting ability on very light tackle, and its relatively large size by galaxias standards, sometimes reaching 30 cm, and commonly 20 cm. (Spotted galaxias appear to have had a larger average size before the introduction of exotic trout species.) A handful of fly-fishers in Australia are now re-discovering the pleasure of fly-fishing for this magnificent native fish with ultra-light fly-fishing tackle.
As mentioned above, early-stage juveniles returning to estuaries were and sometimes still are netted as white bait, which are caught for human consumption.
With their beautiful appearance spotted galaxias have immense potential as aquarium fish, but do require cool water.
Conservation
Spotted galaxias are threatened by dams and weirs blocking migration and fragmenting river habitats, irresponsible forestry and farming practices that degrade river environments through siltation and other effects, and competition and predation by exotic trout species.In Tasmanian rivers spotted galaxias numbers are severely depressed when exotic trout species are present (Ault & White, 1994). This is a common phenomena; galaxias species that manage to survive the presence of exotic trout (many species do not) such as spotted galaxias are forced into sub-optimal feeding locations, feeding times and diets by aggressive competition from exotic trout species (McDowall, 2006). Galaxias populations in such situations tend to display lower than normal growth, size and fecundity, raising concerns for their long-term future (McDowall, 2006).
In southern Victoria however many recreational fishermen report that spotted galaxias are found only in the few trout-free streams remaining. Spotted galaxias appear to reach a larger maximum size in these few trout-free streams than in Tasmania. A lack of exotic-trout-free habitat reserved for spotted galaxias and other native fish species in south-eastern Australia generally is a major concern.