Neosilurus gloveri Allen & Feinberg 1998
Dalhousie catfish

PLOTOSIDAE, Eeltailed catfish


image 16KK jpeg 100mm (4in) TL. Ross Felix photo.

Size

Maximum recorded size in the wild is 120mm (4.8in) TL (Glover 1989), although specimens will grow up to at least 180mm (7.2in) TL in captivity.

Conservation Status

Listed as Threatened by the Australian Society for Fish Biology

Distribution & Abundance

image

Restricted to fourteen springs at Dalhousie Springs (shown by the black dot), (Kodric-Brown & Brown 1993). They are usually common within their small range.

Habitat & Ecology

Dalhousie catfish occurs voluntarily in water up to 40°C (104°F) (Unmack pers. obs. 1994). Glover & Sim, (1978) originally proposed that this species and Dalhousie hardyheads are both limited to thermal waters because they appeared to have low tolerance to temperatures below 20°C (68°F). However, this appears inaccurate. Once acclimatised, they will feed and show no sign of distress at 16°C (60°F), (Unmack unpub. data).

Reproduction

Fecundity ranges from 136 eggs for a 72mm (3in) TL fish to 1197 eggs for a 120mm (4.8in) TL fish. It is not known if spawning is seasonal or occurs all year round (Glover 1989). They may be sexed by the shape of their urogenital papilla, although the small size of this species makes this a little more difficult.

Threats

The greatest threat is their restricted range. At Dalhousie Springs, the principal threat is the potential introduction of exotic species.

Conservation Action

Dalhousie Springs is completely enclosed within Witjira National Park. There is also ongoing population monitoring being conducted by Bryan Pierce from the South Australian Research and Development Institute.

Conservation Recommendations

Continue regular population monitoring.

Important References

Glover, C. J. M. 1989. Fishes. In, Natural History of Dalhousie Springs. Eds. Zeidler, W. & Ponder, W. F. South Australian Museum, Adelaide. pp 89-112.

Glover, C. J. M., & Sim, T. C. 1978. Studies on central Australian fishes: a progress report. South Australian Naturalist. 52(3): 35-44.

Kodric-Brown, A. & Brown, J. H. 1993. Highly structured fish communities in Australian desert springs. Ecology. 74(6): 1847-1855.

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The Australian desert fishes pages are compiled and maintained by Peter J. Unmack
Many thanks to Karen Randall for her excellent drawing of a desert goby that is
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This file was last modified:  18 March 2003