Carson River Gudgeon, Hypseleotris wunduwala Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2023

Other Names: King Edward Gudgeon, Wunduwala (Belaa)
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Hypseleotris wunduwala in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5719

Carson River Gudgeon, Hypseleotris wunduwala Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2023

More Info

Distribution

 Endemic to the Carson River, a tributary of the King Edward River that flows northward off the Kimberley Plateau, north Western Australia.
Prefers slow-flowing deep-water habitats over sandstone and mixed rocky substrates, often near crevices, around aquatic plants, or near woody debris. The species was most abundant in a floodplain lagoon. Individuals orientate themselves almost vertically in the water column close to cover.

Etymology

 The specific name is the β€œbush name” in the Belaa language of ethno-ecologist Dolores Cheinmora (1926-2011), who, alongside her daughter Agnes Charles, was a part of the 2004-2005 fish survey during which this species was first collected.

Species Citation

 Hypseleotris wunduwala Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2023, Zootaxa 5311(3): 366, Figs. 10-11. Type locality: Mool Mool (or Mur Mur) Lagoon near the junction of the Kalumburu Road and Carson River Road, Kimberley Region, Western Australia, Australia, 14Β°27'14.15"S, 26Β°40'59.09"E.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2025

Resources

Carson River Gudgeon, Hypseleotris wunduwala Shelley, Delaval & Le Feuvre 2023

References

Morgan, D.L., Allen, G.R., Pusey, B.J. & Burrows, D.W. 2011. A review of the freshwater fishes of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Zootaxa 2816: 1-64 (as Hypseleotris ejuncida non Hoese & Allen 1982, in part, Carson River material)

Pusey, B.J., Kennard, M.J., Burrows, D., Perna, C., et al. 2011. Freshwater fish, in Pusey, B.J. (ed.) Aquatic Biodiversity in Northern Australia: Patterns, Threats and Future. Charles Darwin University Press, Darwin, 82 pp. (as Hypseleotris ejuncida non Hoese & Allen 1982, in part)

Shelley, J.J., Delaval, A. & Le Feuvre, M.C. 2023. A revision of the gudgeon genus π»π‘¦π‘π‘ π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘œπ‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘  (Gobiiformes: Gobioidei: Eleotridae) of northwest Australia, describing three new species and synonymizing the genus πΎπ‘–π‘šπ‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘™π‘’π‘¦π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘œπ‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘ . Zootaxa 5311 (3): 340-374. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5311.3.2

Shelley, J.J. & Le Feuvre, M.C. 2018. Family Eleotridae. pp. 174-203 in Shelley, J.J., Morgan, D.L., Hammer, M.P., Le Feuvre, M.C., et al. A Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of the Kimberley. Murdoch, Western Australia : Murdoch University 262 pp. (as Hypseleotris sp. 3 β€˜King Edward Gudgeon’)

Thacker, C.E., Geiger, D.L. & Unmack, P.J. (2022) Species delineation and systematics of a hemiclonal hybrid complex in Australian freshwaters (Gobiiformes: Gobioidei: Eleotridae: Hypseleotris). Royal Society Open Science 9: 220201. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220201 (as Hypseleotris sp. 3 β€˜King Edward Gudgeon’)

Quick Facts

CAAB Code:37429070
Habitat:Freshwater
Max Size:2.2 cm SL
Native:Endemic

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map