Murray cod

This article is about the Australian freshwater fish. Not to be confused with Cod.

Murray cod
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percichthyidae
Genus: Maccullochella
Species:
M. peelii
Binomial name
Maccullochella peelii
Synonyms
  • Acerina peelii T. L. Mitchell, 1838
  • Maccullochella peelii peelii (T. L. Mitchell, 1838)

The Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii) is a large Australian predatory freshwater fish of the genus Maccullochella in the family Percichthyidae.[3] Although the species is called a cod in the vernacular, it is not related to the Northern Hemisphere marine cod (Gadus) species. The Murray cod is an important part of Australia's vertebrate wildlife—as an apex predator in the Murray-Darling River system—and also significant in Australia's human culture.[4] The Murray cod is the largest exclusively freshwater fish in Australia, and one of the largest in the world. Other common names for Murray cod include cod, greenfish, goodoo, Mary River cod, Murray perch, ponde, pondi and Queensland freshwater cod.[3]

The scientific name of Murray cod derives from an early Australian fish researcher Allan Riverstone McCulloch and the river from which the explorer Major Mitchell first scientifically described the species, the Peel River.[3] This was for a number of years changed to M. peelii peelii to differentiate Murray cod from Mary River cod, which were designated as a subspecies of Murray cod. However, as of 2010, Mary River cod have been raised to full species status (M. mariensis), thus Murray cod have reverted simply to M. peelii.[5]

Murray cod populations have declined severely since European colonisation of Australia due to a number of causes, including severe overfishing, river regulation, and habitat degradation and are now a listed threatened species. However, they once inhabited almost the entire Murray-Darling basin, Australia's largest river system, in very great numbers.

A long-lived fish, adult Murray cod are carnivorous and eat crustaceans (shrimp, yabbies, crays), fish and freshwater mussels.[4][6] The species exhibits a high degree of parental care for their eggs, which are spawned in the spring and are generally laid in hollow logs or on other hard surfaces. Murray cod are a popular angling target and aquaculture species. Often available through the aquarium trade, they are also a popular aquarium species in Australia.[7]

  1. ^ "Maccullochella peelii — Murray Cod". Species Profile and Threats Database. 3 July 2003. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  2. ^ Gilligan, D.; Zampatti, B.; Lintermans, M.; Koehn, J.; Butler, G.; Brooks, S. (2019). "Maccullochella peelii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T12576A103325360. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T12576A103325360.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Dianne J. Bray & Vanessa J. Thompson (2011) Murray Cod, Maccullochella peelii. Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 29 August 2014
  4. ^ a b Humphries, Paul (2023). The Life and Times of the Murray cod. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 9781486312320.
  5. ^ Nock, C. J.; Elphinstone M. S.; Rowland S. J. & Baverstock, P. R. (2010). "Phylogenetics and revised taxonomy of the Australian freshwater cod genus, Maccullochella (Percichthyidae)". Marine and Freshwater Research. 61 (9): 980–991. doi:10.1071/MF09145.
  6. ^ Doyle, Katherine (2012). Can native Australian percichthyid fishes control invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio)?. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference nfacod was invoked but never defined (see the help page).