Mouth Almighty, Glossamia aprion (Richardson 1842)


Other Names: Blanchard's Perchlet, Flabby, Gill's Cardinalfish, Gill's Cardinal-fish, Glossamia, Gobbleguts, Northern Mouthbreeder, Queensland Mouthbreeder, Queensland Mouthbrooder, Soldier Fish, Stinker

Mouth Almighty, Glossamia aprion. Source: Michael Hammer. License: all rights reserved

Summary:
A creamy-brown cardinalfish with 6-8 irregular broken darker olive-brown bar-like areas extending onto belly, or numerous small and large irregular darker brown spots and blotches, and a dark bar from eye to shoulder. The first dorsal fin is dusky, with the outer half blackish, pelvic fins and basal parts of second dorsal and anal fins with dark spots and marbling.
Video compilation of Mouth Almighty in the Finniss River, Northern Territory.

Video of a Mouth Almighty hunting amongst Pandanus roots in a small rainforest billabong on a freshwater spring in the upper reaches of the Finniss River, Northern Territory.

Cite this page as:
Gomon, M.F. & Bray, D.J. 2024, Glossamia aprion in Fishes of Australia, accessed 18 Feb 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4224

Mouth Almighty, Glossamia aprion (Richardson 1842)

More Info


Distribution

Widespread in rivers, creeks and lagoons of northern Australia, from the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley, Western Australia, to northern New South Wales. The species also occurs in southern New Guinea. Inhabits still or gently flowing fresh waters of coastal streams, pools, swamps and reservoirs; usually amongst aquatic vegetation at shallow margins.

Features

Dorsal fin VI-I, 9–11; Anal fin II, 8–10; Pectoral fin 12-13; LL 25–43, continued to tail base; Transverse scales 3.5–4.5 + 11–14; Lower Gill rakers 6.
Body oblong and compressed, rather elevated with a marked concavity before nape; body depth 2.4–2.8. Head 2.4-2.6 in length without tail. Eye large, 3.1-4.1 in head, 1.5-1.9 times interorbital and slightly greater than snout. Snout 3.2-4.2 in head; interorbital 4.2-4.6 in head. Lower jaw protruding slightly; maxilla reaching to below hind border of eye; broad bands of depressible villiform teeth in jaws; symphysial ones slightly larger; narrower bands of similar teeth on vomer and palatines and a small patch at back of tongue. Lower margin of preoperculum with a few coarse serrations. Preopercular ridge, orbital rim and preorbital entire. Gill rakers very short.
Large, mostly ctenoid scales.
Two separate dorsal fins, both tall; origin of first dorsal about opposite ventral fin; origin of 2nd dorsal about opposite anal fin; caudal fin rounded to slightly emarginate.

Size

To at least 10 cm SL.

Colour

Creamy-brown with 6-8 irregular broken darker olive-brown bar-like areas extending onto belly or numerous small and large irregular darker brown spots and blotches. A dark bar from eye to shoulder. 1st dorsal fin dusky, outer half blackish; pelvics and basal parts of 2nd dorsal and anal fins with dark spots and marbling.

Feeding

Nocturnal ambush predator that feeds on aquatic and terrestrial insects, small fishes and crustaceans.

Biology

Spawning occurs in the late dry and early wet season, possibly at night. Eggs are relatively large but not numerous, and are incubated by the male parent in their mouth cavity. The larvae hatch at an advanced stage.

Remarks

Genetic studies indicate that Glossamia aprion is a complex of multiple species.

Etymology

The specific name aprion is from the Greek a- (= without) and prion (= saw), in reference to the lack of serrations on the preoperculum.

Species Citation

Apogon aprion Richardson 1842, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (ns)9(55): 16. Type locality: King's River near Victoria, Port Essington, Northern Territory.

Author

Gomon, M.F. & Bray, D.J. 2024

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Mouth Almighty, Glossamia aprion (Richardson 1842)

References


Allen, G.R. 1982. Inland Fishes of Western Australia.  Perth : Western Australian Museum 86 pp. 6 figs 20 pls.

Allen, G.R. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Australia.  Neptune, New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications pp. 1–240 figs.

Allen, G.R. & Hoese, D.F. 1980. A collection of fishes from Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 63: 53–61.

Allen, G.R., Hortle, K.G. & Renyaan, S.J. 2000. Freshwater fishes of the Timika region, New Guinea. Timinka, Indonesia : P.T. Freeport Indonesia 175 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Leggett, R. 1990. A collection of freshwater fishes from the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 14(4): 527-545 See ref online

Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Australia.  Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp.

Allen, G.R., Storey, A.W. & Yarrao, M. 2008. Freshwater Fishes of the Fly River Papua New Guinea. Tabubil, Papua New Guinea : Ok Tedi Mining 216 pp.

Castelnau, F.L. de 1878. Notes on the fishes of the Norman River. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 3(1): 41-51 (described as Gulliveria fusca and Gulliveria fasciata, type locality Norman River, Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland) See ref at BHL

Cook, B.D., Adams, M., Mather, P.B. & Hughes, J.M. 2012. Statistical phylogeographic tests of competing ‘Lake Carpentaria hypotheses’ in the mouth-brooding freshwater fish, Glossamia aprion (Apogonidae). Marine and Freshwater Research 63: 450-456 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF11222

Cook, B.D., Unmack, P.J., Huey, J.A. & Hughes, J.M. 2012. Did common disjunct populations of freshwater fishes in northern Australia form from the same biogeographic events? Freshwater Science 33: 263–272. https://doi.org/10.1086/674936

De Vis, C.W. 1884. New Australian fishes in the Queensland Museum. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 9(2): 389-400 (described as Apogonichthys longicauda, type locality Queensland) See ref at BHL

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes.  Redcliffe : E.M. Grant Pty. Limited 9th Edn  880 pp. (as Glossamia aprion gilli).

Hammer, M.P. & Gomon, M.F. 2018. Family Apogonidae, pp. 159-161 in Shelley, J.J., Morgan, D.L., Hammer, M.P., Le Feuvre, M., et al. (eds) A field guide to the freshwater fishes of the Kimberley. Murdoch, Perth, Australia : Murdoch University Print Production Team.

Hungerford, R. 1981. Freshwater Fishing in Australia. Sydney : Jack Pollard Publishing Pty. Ltd. 108 pp. 

Krefft, G. 1868. Descriptions of some new Australian freshwater fishes. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1867: 942-944 (described as Mionorus lunatus, type locality Cox River, Philip County, New South Wales) See ref at BHL

Kuiter, R.H. & Kozawa, T. 2019. Cardinalfishes of the world. New ed. Seaford, Victoria (Aquatic Photographics) and Okazaki, Aichi, Japan (Anthias, Nexus): 1-198.

Larson, H.K. & Martin, K.C. 1990. Freshwater Fishes of the Northern Territory. Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences Handbook Series Number 1.  Darwin : Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences 102 pp. 73 figs.

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293

Mabuchi, K., Fraser, T.H., Song, H., Azuma, Y. & Nishida, M. 2014. Revision of the systematics of the cardinalfishes (Percomorpha: Apogonidae) based on molecular analyses and comparative reevaluation of morphological characters. Zootaxa 3846(2): 151–203

Macleay, W.J. 1881. Descriptive catalogue of the fishes of Australia. Part 1. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 5(3): 302-444 (described as Apogonichthys roseobrunneus, type locality river in north Queensland) See ref at BHL

Macleay, W.J. 1884. Supplement to the descriptive catalogue of the fishes of Australia. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 9(1): 2-64 (described as Gulliveria ramsayi, type locality - freshwater inland from Port Darwin, Northern Territory) See ref at BHL

McDowall, R.M. (ed.) 1980. Freshwater Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reed 208 pp., figs, 32 pls.

Merrick, J.R. & Schmida, G.E. 1984. Australian Freshwater Fishes Biology and Management.  Sydney : J.R. Merrick 409 pp. figs

Moore, G. & Morgan, D.L. 2019. Glossamia aprion. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T123359468A123382871. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T123359468A123382871.en. Accessed on 10 July 2024.

Morgan, D.L. 2010. Fishes of the King Edward River in the Kimberley region, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 25: 351-368. https://doi.org/10.18195/issn.0312-3162.25(4).2010.351-368

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 https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2816.1.1

Morgan, D.L., Allen, M.G., Bedford, P. & Horstman, M. 2004. Fish fauna of the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia – including the Bunuba, Gooniyandi, Ngarinyin, Nyikina and Walmajarii Aboriginal names. Records of the Western Australian Museum 22: 147-161 See ref online

Ogilby, J.D. 1908. On new genera and species of fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 21: 1-26 (described as Apogonichthys nebulosus, type locality Edward Street Baths, Brisbane, Queensland) See ref at BHL

Pollard, D.A. 1996. Family Apogonidae. pp. 181-182 in McDowall, R.M. (ed.). Freshwater Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Sydney : Reed Books 247 pp. 

Prokop, F. 2002. Australian Fish Guide. Croydon South, Victoria : Australian Fishing Network 256 pp. 

Pusey, B.J., Burrows, D.W., Kennard, M.J., Perna, C.N., et al. 2017. Freshwater fishes of northern Australia. Zootaxa 4253(1): 1-104. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4253.1.1

Pusey, B.J., Kennard, M.J. & Arthington, A.H. 2004. Freshwater Fishes of North-eastern Australia. Collingwood, Victoria : CSIRO Publishing 684 pp. 

Pusey, B.J., Kennard, M.J. & Bird, J. 2000. Fishes of the dune fields of Cape Flattery, northern Queensland and other dune systems in north-eastern Australia. Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwater 11(1): 65-74

Pusey, B.J., Read, M.G. & Arthington, A.H. 1995. The feeding ecology of freshwater fishes in two rivers of the Australian wet tropics. Environmental Biology of Fishes 43(1): 85-103 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00001820

Richardson, J. 1842. Contributions to the ichthyology of Australia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History ns 9(55): 15-31 See ref at BHL

Steindachner, F. 1867. Über einige Fische aus dem Fitzroy-Flusse bei Rockhampton in Ost-Australien. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse 55(1): 9-16 figs 1-2 (described as Apogonichthys gillii, type locality Fitzroy River, Rockhampton, Queensland) See ref at BHL

Whitley, G.P. 1939. A new apogonid fish from Queensland. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 405: 1-4 fig. 1 (described as Kurandapogon blanchardi, type locality Kuranda, north Queensland) https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/56844

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37327102

Biology:Mouth brooder (males)

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Freshwater rivers, streams, lagoons

Max Size:10 cm SL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map