Flinders Ranges Mogurnda Fish

Mogurnda is a member of family Eleotridae- a family of fish that has 150 species and 35 genera. They are available in freshwaters and salty waters of New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii. It is known as bullies in New Zealand and called as sleepers or gudgeons in New Guinea and Australia. They are called sleepers because the variety of fishes stays still in the very bottom of the water to wait for prey. As soon as they spot their prey, they then catch the prey in avery quick motion. When Mogurndas or gudgeons stay in salt water in their larval stage, they are feed by plankton. Eventually they eat crustaceans, invertebrates, small fishes, and insects. They can be located in fresh water such as creeks, lakes, and streams. Rivers with brackish water can be their shelter too. They are mostly found in brackish or freshwater and other can be found in seas.

Mogurnda or sleepers are relatively small and have elongated body which size ranges from 3cm to 66 cm. A number of them have a thin rounded and smooth-edge scale while some have scales that look like a comb, usually rough in texture. They've got conical teeth. Some Mogurnda are colorful while others have dark colors such as dark brown.Female and male Mogurnda look the same, except when males change their color during the period of courtship, when they encounter same sex competitor and when they're leading their partner to the nest for spawning. Breeding period is reliable on its climate. Breeding is considered slower in colder regions that mostly happen two times in a year. They keep the egg in the very bottom of seawater floor. These fishes thrive in salt water for larval stage and finally shift to freshwater or brackish water when it matures. Small Mogurnda is said to have a life expectancy of two years.

Flinders Ranges Mogurnda is falls under types of Mogurnda Clivicola. The Mogurnda fishes have found a perfect sanctuary in its Flinders Rangers accommodation, dwelling throughout the muddy and rocky spring-fed pools and creeks of Vulkathunha Gammon Ranges National Park such as Bunyeroo, Brachina, Wilpena, Parachilna and Oratunga.In addition, they succeed in rocky streams along the valleys. The muddy Barcoo River and Bulloo River are their favorite site too.

The Flinders Ranges Gudgeon fishes have gray spots on its either blue or brown scales. There is a matching dark orange stripe from its tail going to its head. They have translucent two vertical fins at the back and rounded tail fin. Male Mogurndas create a different color, having orange spots displayed in the body going to its tail in spawning season that usually happens during summers. Their length could reaches 6 inches that is considered medium in comparison with other species seen in other countries.

The climate is Flinders Ranges attraction for the variety’s spawning. The females usually spawn over 20°C that they can lay a maximum of 800 eggs. The males are the ones securing the eggs until they hatch in a period of seven days. Newly hatch Mogurnda are 5mm in lenght and eat recently hatched shrimp.

Recently, the government of the region is attempting to keep the species since there have been a declining number of the fish in the rivers of Flinders Ranges. The variety of fishes continues to be one of Flinders Ranges attractions to researchers. The South Australian Research and Development Institute headed by Bryan Pierce try to supervise the fishes particularly in the Gammon Ranges National Park