Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osmeriformes (Freshwater smelts) >
Retropinnidae (New Zealand smelts) > Retropinninae
Etymology: Retropinna: Latin, retro = backwards, on the back side + Latin, pinna = thorn (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Richard Wolfgang Semon (1859–1918) was a German embryologist, evolutionary biologist and physiologist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Weber.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; pelagic; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Temperate; 10°C - 25°C (Ref. 2059)
Oceania: Australia's east coast from the Fritzroy River southward to at least the Shoalhaven River; throughout most of the Murray-Darling river system; and in Lake Eyre inland drainage system near Longreach, Thompson River.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 7.0 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5259); common length : 6.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5259); max. reported age: 2.00 years (Ref. 4851)
Lives in streams, backwaters, lakes, swamps and estuaries. Occurs in brackish estuaries and inland salt lakes. Most common in slow-flowing streams and still waters, shoaling near the surface or around the cover of aquatic plants and woody debris. Forms large aggregations in open water (Ref. 44894). Feeds on aquatic insects, microcrustaceans and algae. Spawns throughout the Murray-Darling river system. Breeds between July and March (mostly in spring) (Ref. 44894). Spawning temperature is about 15 °C. Newly hatched larvae measure 4.8 mm TL on the average. Eggs are laid among aquatic vegetation and hatch in about 10 days. Sexual maturity is attained by the end of the first year (Ref. 44894). Eaten fresh or canned.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Lake, J.S., 1971. Freshwater fishes and rivers of Australia. Thomas Nelson Ltd., Australia. 61 p. (Ref. 4850)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.6406 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.8 ±0.29 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 3.6 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.31; tm=1; tmax=2).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (13 of 100).
