Western Hardyhead, Leptatherina wallacei (Prince, Ivantsoff & Potter 1982)

Summary:

A silvery to semi-transparent or pale olive hardyhead with a dusky back, an indistinct narrow silvery mid-lateral stripe and large bluish eyes. During the breeding season the mid-lateral stripe becomes a vibrant coppery-orange and the eyes become bright orange.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. & Thompson, V.J. 2024, Leptatherina wallacei in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Jan 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3142

Western Hardyhead, Leptatherina wallacei (Prince, Ivantsoff & Potter 1982)

More Info

Distribution	Endemic to southwestern Western Australia, from the Duke of Orleans Bay, east of Esperance, to the Hill River. The species is common in the brackish parts of the major rivers of the South West Coast Drainage Division of Western Australia. Inhabits the upper reaches of estuaries, and clear, flowing freshwater streams, commonly forming schools around woody debris and aquatic plants. The species also occurs in some freshwater lakes.
Features	Dorsal fin V-VIII + I, 8-10; Anal fin I, 9-12; Pectoral fin 11-15; Gill rakers (lower limb 1st arch) 14-17; Midlateral scales 36-45; Transverse scales 5-6; Vertebrae 38-41. Body laterally compressed, relatively slender and elongate; greatest body depth 5.5-7.9; head length in SL 3.6-4.8; mouth moderately small; rear edge of jaw reaches to below front of eye; upper jaw protrusible, but not to the same extent as in many other atherinids; labial ligament not restricting gape of mouth; small teeth present in upper and lower jaws; vomer and palatines usually with teeth (may be weakly developed or absent in smaller specimens; eye diameter 2.7-3.1 in HL. Body scales small, usually dorsoventrally oval, with complete circuli. Two separate short-based dorsal fins; origin of 1st dorsal fin behind origin of ventral fin; origin of 2nd dorsal fin above and just behind origin of anal fin; caudal fin forked; pectoral fin inserted high laterally.
Size	To 7cm SL, commonly to 4cm.
Colour	Semi-transparent to pale olive overall; duskier dorsally with an indistinct silvery mid-lateral stripe and bluish eyes. During breeding the mid lateral stripe becomes vibrant bronze-orange and similarly the eyes are bright orange.
Feeding	Feeds mainly on insect larvae and microcrustaceans taken from the plankton and near the substrate.
Biology	Individuals attain sexual maturity at the end of the first year of life, and the breeding season extends from spring to summer. Females are reproductively mature at 55 mm SL, males at 45 mm SL. The Western Hardyhead is an annual species that dies shortly after the first breeding season.
Remarks	Leptatherina wallacei is common in major rivers of the Southwest Coast Drainage Division, Western Australia.
Similar Species	Leptatherina wallacei is similar to the Elongate Hardyhead, Atherinosoma elongata, and the Silverfish, **Leptatherina presbytoides*. Both species occur in the lower and middle reaches of estuaries, while L. wallacei* occurs in upper estuarine and freshwater habitats. Leptatherina wallacei differs from these species in having a translucent swim bladder which appears separated from the gut.
Etymology	The species is named after J. Wallace whose cooperation and encouragement during the authors' study of atherinids was invaluable.
Species Citation	Atherinosoma wallacei Prince, Ivantsoff & Potter 1982, Australian Zoologist 21(1): 67 figs 1, 2. Type locality: Guildford, Swan-Avon River system, Western Australia.
Author	Bray, D.J. & Thompson, V.J. 2024
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Western Hardyhead, Leptatherina wallacei (Prince, Ivantsoff & Potter 1982)

References

Allen, G.R. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Neptune, New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 240 pp., 63 pls. (as Atherinosoma wallacei)

Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp.

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

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

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/50221

Humphries 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., 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

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

Linke, T. 2011. Trophic interactions among abundant members of the fish fauna in a permanently-open and a seasonally-open estuary in South-western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/12662.

Merrick, J.R. & Schmida, G.E. 1984. Australian Freshwater Fishes Biology and Management. Sydney : J.R. Merrick 409 pp. figs 280 col. figs. (as Atherinosoma wallacei)

Morgan, D.L., Gill, H.S. & Potter, I.C. 1998. Distribution, identification and biology of freshwater fishes in south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 56: 1-97 See ref online

Neira, F.J. 1988. Systematics and ecology of larvae of lampreys and fishes. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/53025 (as Atherinosoma wallacei)

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

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 wallacei)

Rashnavadi, M., Lymbery, A.J., Beatty, S.J. & & D L Morgan, D.L. 1997. Ecological response of an estuarine atherinid to secondary salinisation in south-western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of WesternAustralia 97(2): 343-353. See ref online

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

Thorburn, D.C. 1999. The broad and fine scale habitat associations of the fish fauna of the Blackwood River and it's tributaries. Honours thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/41529

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

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