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Issue: Vol. 5750 No. 4: 22 Jan. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-01-22
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5750.4.3
Page range: 505-525
Abstract views: 78
PDF downloaded: 31

Description of a freshwater eeltail catfish (Teleostei: Plotosidae) from sandstone habitat in the eastern Kimberley, Western Australia

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory; GPO Box 4646; Darwin; Northern Territory 0801; Australia.
Western Australian Museum; Locked Bag 49; Welshpool DC; Western Australia 6986; Australia.
Western Australian Museum; Locked Bag 49; Welshpool DC; Western Australia 6986; Australia.
Evolutionary Biology Unit; South Australian Museum; North Terrace Adelaide SA 5000; Australia.; School of Biological Sciences; University of Adelaide; Adelaide SA 5005; Australia.
Centre for Applied Water Science; Institute for Applied Ecology; University of Canberra ACT 2617; Australia.
Pisces morphology taxonomy genetics freshwater biodiversity allozymes mtDNA Neosilurus

Abstract

The Kimberley region of north-western Australia is an exceptional region for endemic freshwater fishes. During a survey program in partnership with local land and sea rangers in the eastern Kimberley in 2014, an unusual morphotype of an eeltail catfish (Plotosidae) was recorded, featuring a moderately extended caudodorsal fin, small first dorsal fin, hard sharp fin spines and depressed head, collectively representing a unique combination of characters. Nuclear and mitochondrial genetic assessments confirmed the presence of a distinct candidate species. Combined lines of evidence are used to describe Neosilurus manjandi sp. nov. The recorded habitat consists of sandstone upland streams and gorges in the Pentecost and Drysdale river catchments. Preliminary genetic data for Kimberley freshwater plotosids reveal the presence of several other cryptic lineages that warrant further genetic and taxonomic assessments. Maintaining refuge pools is a likely key conservation consideration for the new species in the face of any future catchment modification and climate change.

 

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How to Cite

Hammer, M.P., Moore, G.I., Allen, G.R., Adams, M. & Unmack, P.J. (2026) Description of a freshwater eeltail catfish (Teleostei: Plotosidae) from sandstone habitat in the eastern Kimberley, Western Australia. Zootaxa, 5750 (4), 505–525. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5750.4.3