Trout cod

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Trout cod Temporal range: Pliocene - Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Centrarchiformes
Family:	Percichthyidae
Genus:	Maccullochella
Species:	M. macquariensis
Binomial name
Maccullochella macquariensis (G. Cuvier, 1829)
Synonyms
Grystes macquariensis G. Cuvier, 1829 Grystes brisbani Lesson, 1831 Oligorus mitchelii Castelnau, 1873 Oligorus gibbiceps W. J. Macleay, 1885

The trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis) or bluenose cod, is a large predatory freshwater fish of the genus Maccullochella and the family Percichthyidae, closely related to the Murray cod. It was originally widespread in the south-east corner of the Murray-Darling river system in Australia, but is now an endangered species.^[2]

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, when trout cod were widely recognised as a separate species by commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, riverside residents and fisheries scientists, they were generally known as bluenose cod or simply bluenose, particularly in Victoria. In some parts of New South Wales however they were also known as trout cod, and this common name was adopted when the species status of the fish was finally confirmed by genetic studies in the early 1970s. This choice of official common name was perhaps unfortunate; it has been suggested that bluenose cod is a more appropriate name as the name trout cod causes confusion amongst the Australian public. (Trout cod are an Australian native freshwater fish; they are not a hybrid between Murray cod and introduced trout species.)

Trout cod are a listed species on a number of different registers including Endangered under the New South Wales Fisheries Management Act 1994, the Australian Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the Australian Capital Territory's Nature Conservation Act 1980 and by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). They are also listed as Threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1998.

Fossils of genus Maccullochella can be found from Miocene epoch (from about 23.03 to 5.332 million years ago) to recent age, while the species Maccullochella macquariensis is present from Lower Pliocene (3.6–5.3 mya) to recent age.