- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- ATHERINIFORMES
- ATHERINIDAE
- Leptatherina
- presbyteroides
Silver Fish, Leptatherina presbyteroides (Richardson 1843)
A Silver Fish, Leptatherina presbyteroides, at Garden Island, Perth region, Western Australia, May 2019. Source: Glen Whisson / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Silver Fish, Leptatherina presbyteroides (Richardson 1843)
More Info
Distribution |
Widespread in southern Australia from Sydney, New South Wales, to the Houtman Abrolhos (and possibly north to Shark Bay), Western Australia, including around Tasmania. Inhabits open sandy areas and seagrass beds in sheltered coastal waters, shallow bays, inlets and estuaries, at depths to 5 m. The species is common in the lower parts of estuaries. |
Features |
Dorsal fin VI-VIII + I, 9-13; Anal fin I, 10-15; Caudal fin 17; Pectoral fin 11-14; Pelvic fin I, 5; Gill rakers (lower limb) 15-20; Vertebrae 41-48. Body very long, slender, with two small, widely separate dorsal fins; eye large, ~ 33% HL; snout short, ~ 25% HL; mouth large, slightly protrusible; jaws reaching to front of eye; teeth small. |
Feeding |
Feeds fairly high in the water column, likely consuming planktonic crustaceans, such as calanoid and harpacticoid copepods, terrestrial insects, larval bivalves and foraminiferans. |
Etymology |
Named presbyteroides in reference to the strong resemblance of this species to Atherina presbyter Cuvier 1829. |
Species Citation |
Atherina presbyteroides Richardson 1843, Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 11(69): 179. Type locality: Port Arthur, Tasmania. |
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2024 |
Resources |
Silver Fish, Leptatherina presbyteroides (Richardson 1843)
References
Campanella, D., Hughes, L.C., Unmack, P.J., Bloom, D.D., Piller, K.R. & , G. 2015. Multi-locus fossil-calibrated phylogeny of Atheriniformes (Teleostei, Ovalentaria). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 86: 8-23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2015.03.001
Castelnau, F.L. de 1873. Contribution to the ichthyology of Australia. 8. Fishes of Western Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria 2: 123-149 (described Atherinichthys edelensis, type locality Swan River, Western Australia) See ref at BHL
Castelnau, F.L. de 1875. Researches on the fishes of Australia. Intercolonial Exhibition Essays. 2. pp. 1–52 in, Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 : Official Record. Melbourne (described as Atherinichthys obscurus, type locality Swan River, Western Australia)Chubb, C.F., Hutchins, J.B., Lenanton, R.C.J. & Potter, I.C. 1979. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Swan-Avon river system, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 8(1): 1-55 (as Atherinosoma presbyteroides)
Hoddell, R.J. 2003. A mtDNA study of aspects of the recent evolutionary history and phylogeographic structure of selected teleosts in coastal environments of south-western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/99
Hoschke, A., Whisson, G. & Moore, G.I. 2019. Complete list of fishes from Rottnest Island. pp. 150-161 in Whisson, G. & Hoschke, A. (eds) The Rottnest Island fish book. 2nd ed. Perth : Aqua Research and Monitoring Services.
Humphries, P. 1991. Utilisation of the shallows of a south-western Australian estuary by fish, with special reference to the influence of the aquatic macrophyte Ruppia megacarpa. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/50221Humphries P. 1993. A comparison of the mouth morphology of three co-occurring species of atherinid. Journal of Fish Biology 42(4): 585–593 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1993.tb00361.x
Humphries, P. & Potter, I.C. 1993. Relationship between the habitat and diet of three species of atherinids and three species of gobies in a temperate Australian estuary. Marine Biology 116: 193–204 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350009
Humphries, P., Hyndes, G.A. & Potter, I.C. 1992. Comparisons between the diets of distant taxa (Teleost and Cormorant) in an Australian estuary. Estuaries 15(3): 327-334 https://doi.org/10.2307/1352780
Hutchins, J.B. 1997. Checklist of fishes of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. pp. 239-253 in Wells, F. (ed.) The Marine Fauna and Flora of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum.
Hutchins, J.B. & Swainston, R. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete field guide for anglers and divers. Perth : Swainston Publishing 180 pp. (as Atherinosoma presbyteroides)
Hutchins, J.B. & Thompson, M. 1983. The Marine and Estuarine Fishes of South-western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 103 pp. 345 figs. (as Atherinosoma presbyteroides)
Ivantsoff, W. 1994. Families Atherinidae, Isonidae. pp. 375-383 figs 336-342 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs.
Johnston, R.M. 1883. General and critical observations on fishes of Tasmania with a classified catalogue of all known species. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 1882: 53-144 (described as Atherina tamarensis, type locality Launceston Bar, Tamar River, Tasmania) See ref online
Jordan, D.S. & Hubbs, C.L. 1919. A monographic review of the family Atherinidae or silversides. Stanford University Publications, University Series 40: 1-87 pls 1-12 (as Hepsetia edelensis)
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Kuiter, R. & Kuiter, S. 2018. Coastal sea-fishes of south-eastern Australia. Seaford, Victoria : Aquatic Photographics, 371 pp.
McCulloch, A.R. & Waite, E.R. 1918. Some new and little known fishes from South Australia. Records of the South Australian Museum 1(1): 39-78 figs 26-31 pls 2-7 (as Taeniomembras tamarensis) See ref at BHL
Pavlov, A., Ivantsoff, W., Last, P.R. & Crowley, L.E.L.M. 1988. Kestratherina brevirostris, a new genus and species of silverside (Pisces: Atherinidae) with a review of atherinid marine and estuarine genera of southern Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 39: 385-397 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9880385
Potter, I.C., Chalmer, P.N., Tiivel1, D.J., Steckis, R A., Platell, M.E. & Lenanton, R.C.J. 2000. The fish fauna and finfish fishery of the Leschenault Estuary in south-western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 83(4): 481-501 See ref at BHL
Potter, I.C. & Hyndes, G.A. 1999. Characteristics of the ichthyofaunas of southwestern Australian estuaries, including comparisons with holarctic estuaries and estuaries elsewhere in temperate Australia: A review. Australian Journal of Ecology 24: 395-421 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-9993.1999.00980.x
Potter, I.C., Hyndes, G.A., Baronie, E.M. 1993. The fish fauna of a seasonally closed Australian estuary. Is the prevalence of estuarine-spawning species high? Marine Biology 116: 19-30 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350727
Prince, J.D., Ivantsoff, W. & Potter, I.C. 1982. Atherinosoma wallacei, a new species of estuarine and inland water silverside (Teleostei : Atherinidae) from the Swan-Avon and Murray Rivers, Western Australia. The Australian Zoologist 21(1): 63-74 figs 1-2 (as Atherinosoma presbyteroides) See ref at BHL
Prince, J.D. & Potter, I.C. 1983. Life-cycle duration, growth and spawning times of five species of Atherinidae (Teleostei) found in a western Australian estuary. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 34: 287-301 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9830287 (as Atherinosoma presbyteroides)
Prince, J.D., Potter, I.C., Lenanton, R.C.J. & Loneragan, N.R. 1982. Segregation and feeding of atherinid species (Teleostei) in south-western Australian estuaries. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 33: 865-880 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9820865
Raadik, T.A. 2008. Family Atherinidae. pp. 395-400 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.
Richardson, J. 1843. Contributions to the ichthyology of Australia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 11(69): 169-182 See ref at BHL
Thompson, G.G. & Withers, P.C. 1992. osmoregulatory adjustmants by three atherinids (Leptatherina presbyteroides; Craterocephalus mugiloides; Leptatherina wallacei) to a range of salinities. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 103(4): 725-728. https://doi.org/10.1016/0300-9629(92)90173-N
Tweedley, J. 2010. Relationships between faunal assemblages and habitat types in Broke Inlet, Western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/9363
Veale, L. 2013. Inter-period comparisons of the ichthyofaunas of two nearby, modified estuaries and the biology of Pelates octolineatus (Terapontidae). PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/18716
Whitley, G.P. 1941. Ichthyological notes and illustrations. The Australian Zoologist 10(1): 1-50 figs 1-32 pls 1-2 (described as Atherinosoma microstoma lincolnensis, type locality Port Lincoln, South Australia) See ref at BHL
Young, G.C. 2000. The fish fauna of two south-western Australian estuaries: Influence of an artificial entrance channel and of hypersalinity and prolonged closure. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/52019