Mogurnda clivicola

Mogurnda clivicola, commonly known as the Flinders Ranges mogurnda, Flinders Ranges purple-spotted gudgeon, Barcoo, or Bulloo mogurnda,^[2] is a central Australian gudgeon of the family Eleotridae.

Mogurnda clivicola
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gobiiformes
Family:	Eleotridae
Genus:	Mogurnda
Species:	M. clivicola
Binomial name
Mogurnda clivicola G. R. Allen & A. P. Jenkins, 1999

Distribution

Flinders Ranges gudgeons are found in permanent water in an isolated set of spring-fed creeks in the southern Gammon Ranges National Park in the arid South Australian outback.^[3] These creeks are often in very steep-sided, rocky gorges.^[2][3] This fish's habitat is usually isolated into separate pools and then subject to floods that change the water level by several metres.^{[citation needed]}

These fish have also been recorded in samples taken from the Barcoo and Bulloo Rivers in Queensland away from the main population, in the very different habitat of larger, muddy-bottomed rivers.^[2][3]

Description

Flinders Ranges mogurndas are medium-sized fish, with a maximum total length around 13 cm.^[3][4][I] They are dark with a fine mottling of dark grey blotches on the upper side with semi-translucent fins. Usually their body is a paler colour underneath. These fish have a series of burnt orange-coloured stripes running backwards down their cheeks looking like warpaint. Roughly around the lateral line is a display of burnt orange-coloured spots interspersed with paler spots, with a single darker spot on the caudal peduncle. Males develop spectacular spawning colours in summer, namely a more brilliant display of orange spots along the side and to the tail. The anal and spiny and soft dorsal fins are edged with a tiny, iridescent, blue-white stripe. These stripes are somewhat subtle on most of the fins, but are prominent and eye-catching on the spiny dorsal fin. The males also develop a large amount of fat on the top of their heads, giving them a bulbous appearance.^{[citation needed]}

These fish have, in recent times been victims of a dramatic, piebald discolouration of unknown origin.^{[citation needed]}

Ecology and behaviour

In the Flinders Ranges, M. clivicola is the only species of fish found in the rocky pools which they inhabit.^[2] They will bask lying on the shallow shelves of deeper rock pools, with their tails to one side.^{[citation needed]} From above, in this position, they closely resemble the fallen gum leaves on the substrate. In the Barcoo River, the species usually co-exists with up to 10 other fish species in the typically mud-bottomed lowland streams of that system.^[2] Their predators consist mostly of larger birds.^{[citation needed]} They are presumed to be ambush predators.^[2] Tadpoles, insects, and other macroinvertebrates probably form a large part of their diet.^{[citation needed]} Breeding and spawning is a complex ritual spread over days.^[2] These fish spawn when the water temperature reaches 20 °C or higher.^[2][3] The males care for the eggs and guard and fan them with their pectoral fins.^[2] The males' behaviour becomes quite territorial and aggressive during breeding season. They have been known to chase the other fish around.^{[citation needed]}