Biology:Western pygmy perch

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Short description: Species of fish

Western pygmy perch
Pygmy Perch Male.jpg
Photo by Jim Owens
Male, showing breeding colors
Pygmy Perch Female.jpg
Photo by Jim Owens
Female, showing breeding colors
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percichthyidae
Genus: Nannoperca
Species:
N. vittata
Binomial name
Nannoperca vittata
(Castelnau, 1873)
Western Pygmy Perch Map .jpg
Beira range
Synonyms[2]
  • Edelia vittata Castelnau, 1873

The western pygmy perch (Nannoperca vittata) is a species of temperate perch endemic to southwestern Australia.

Description

The Western pygmy perch is a small fish with an olive, brown and green mottled body with tow orange stripes along the flanks. In the breeding season the males develop brighter colouration with golden mottling along the flanks, a reddish-orange abdomen and the fins darken. The females develop a bluish colour when breeding.[3] It can reach 8 cm (3.1 in) TL.[2]

Distribution

The Western pygmy perch is endemic to the south-western coastal drainages of Western Australia. Its range extends from the Waychinicup River east of Albany to the Arrowsmith River 300 kilometres (190 mi) north of Perth. It occurs in the majority of the river drainages within its range, as well as in lakes near the south coast.[1]

Habitat and biology

The Western pygmy perch is found predominantly in lakes, streams, and swamps, and can withstand a degree of brackishness. They have a preference for living among vegetation in the shallows around the water perimeter, and acclimatise readily to a range of water temperatures from almost 0 to 25 °C. Pygmy perch are egg layers. They produce eggs singly, laying 12 to 15 over a period of up to three hours. During the breeding season (July to November), both sexes become noticeably more colorful. The eggs measure around 1.2 mm and are slightly adhesive, which allows them to cling to submerged plants, rocks, or debris. Spawning usually occurs in the latter part of the morning. Hatching occurs after around three days from laying. The 3-mm larvae look quite different from juveniles of the species and have no mouth for several days, but are recognizably perch-like after around 27 to 30 days. This species is mainly carnivorous, they eat various dipteran larvae, including mosquitos, ostracods, and copepods, and small quantities of algae, and are adept at taking mosquitoes from the surface of the water.[4] They attain sexual maturity at one year old, and can live as long as 5 years.[2]

Photo by Jim Owens
Western pygmy perch larva

Uses

Pygmy perch may be safely kept in an aquarium along with tropical fish. They are considered safe with tadpoles, so are used in frog ponds to control mosquito larvae.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Morgan, D.L. (2019). "Nannoperca vittata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T123358592A123382821. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T123358592A123382821.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/123358592/123382821. Retrieved 20 November 2021. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Nannoperca vittata" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. "Nannoperca vittata". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. 2019. http://136.154.202.208/home/species/4454. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Western pygmy perch". Native Fish Australia. https://www.nativefish.asn.au/home/page/Western-Pygmy-Perch. 

Wikidata ☰ Q6431678 entry