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Conservation Status of Australian Fishes - 1999

Australian Society for Fish Biology and IUCN in parentheses.

IUCN categories: (CD) Critically Endangered; (E) Endangered; (V) vulnerable;

(LR-N) Lower Risk (Near Threatened); (LR-L) Lower Risk (Least Concern);

(DD) Data Deficient; (NE) Not Evaluated

* Denotes taxa where formal taxonomic description has not been published but where listing is essential because of concern over their conservation status. Early formal publication will be encouraged to resolve their taxonomic status.

CATEGORY	SCIENTIFIC NAME	COMMON NAME
EXTINCT	No species
ENDANGERED
Brachionichthys hirsutus	spotted handfish	(CD)
Chlamydogobius micropterus	Elizabeth Springs goby	(CD)
Galaxias fontanus	Swan galaxias	(CD)
Galaxias fuscus	barred galaxias	(CD)
Galaxias johnstoni	Clarence galaxias	(CD)
Galaxias pedderensis	Pedder galaxias	(CD)
Maccullochella macquariensis	trout cod	(E)
Maccullochella ikei	eastern cod	(E)
Maccullochella peelii mariensis	Mary River cod	(CD)
Melanotaenia eachamensis	Lake Eacham rainbowfish	(V)
Nannoperca oxleyana	Oxleyan pigmy perch	(E)
Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis	redfinned blue-eye	(CD)
VULNERABLE
Carcharias taurus	grey nurse shark	(V)
Chlamydogobius squamigenus	Edgbaston goby	(CD)
Galaxias tanycephalus	saddled galaxias	(V)
Macquaria australasica	Macquarie perch	(E)
* Mogurnda n.sp.	Flinders Ranges gudgeon	(V)
Nannoperca variegata	variegated pigmy perch	(V)
Nannatherina balstoni	Balston’s pygmy perch	(DD)
Pseudomugil mellis	honey blue-eye	(E)
* Sympterichthys n.sp.	Ziebell's handfish	(V)
* Sympterichthys n.sp.	Waterfall Bay handfish	(V)
POTENTIALLY THREATENED
Bidyanus bidyanus	silver perch	(V)
Craterocephalus dalhousiensis	Dalhousie hardyhead	(V)
Craterocephalus fluviatilis	Murray hardyhead	(E)
Craterocephalus gloveri	Glover's hardyhead	(V)
Epinephelus daemelii	black cod	(DD)
Galaxias parvus	swamp galaxias	(DD)
Galaxiella pusilla	dwarf galaxias	(V)
Mordacia praecox	non-parasitic lamprey	(V)
Neosilurus gloveri.	Dalhousie catfish	(V)
Edelia obscura	Yarra pigmy perch	(V)
Pristis microdon	freshwater sawfish	(DD)
Prototroctes maraena	Australian grayling	(V)
INDETERMINATE
Ophisternon candidum	blind cave eel	(DD)
Rhincodon typus	whale shark	(NE)
Sympterichthys politus	red handfish	(DD)
RESTRICTED
Cairnsichthys rhombosomoides	Cairns rainbowfish	(V)
Chlamydogobius japalpa	Finke River goby	(V)
Chlamydogobius gloveri	Dalhousie goby	(V)
Craterocephalus amniculus	Darling River hardyhead	(V)
Craterocephalus centralis	Finke River hardyhead	(LR-N)
Craterocephalus helenae	Drysdale hardyhead	(LR-N)
Galaxias auratus	golden galaxias	(E)
Galaxias rostratus	flat-headed galaxias	(V)
Galaxiella munda	western mud minnow	(LR-N)
Galaxiella nigrostriata	black-striped minnow	(LR-N)
* Glossogobius n.sp.	Mulgrave goby	(LR-N)
Hannia greenwayi	Greenway's grunter	(DD)
Hephaestus epirrhinos	long-nose sooty grunter	(LR-N)
Hypseleotris aurea	golden gudgeon	(LR-L)
Kimberleyeleotris hutchinsi	Mitchell gudgeon	(LR-N)
Kimberleyeleotris notata	Drysdale gudgeon	(LR-N)
Leiopotherapon aheneus	Fortesque grunter	(LR-N)
Leiopotherapon macrolepis	large-scale grunter	(LR-N)
Lepidogalaxias salamandroides	salamanderfish	(LR-N)
Melanotaenia gracilis	slender rainbowfish	(LR-N)
Melanotaenia pygmaea	pygmy rainbowfish	(LR-N)
Milyeringa veritas	blind gudgeon	(DD)
Mogurnda adspersa	southern purple-spotted gudgeon	(LR-L)
* Mogurnda n.sp.	false-spotted gudgeon	(LR-N)
Paragalaxias dissimilis	Shannon paragalaxias	(V)
Paragalaxias eleotroides	Great Lakes paragalaxias	(V)
Paragalaxias mesotes	Arthur's paragalaxias	(V)
* Percichthyidae n.sp.	Bloomfield River cod	(V)
Pingalla midgleyi	Midgley's grunter	(LR-N)
Scleropages leichardti	Saratoga	(LR-N)
Scortum parviceps	small-headed grunter	(DD)
Syncomistes rastellus	Drysdale grunter	(LR-N)
UNCERTAIN STATUS
Anoxypristis cuspidata	narrow sawfish	(DD)
Ambassis elongatus	yellowfin perchlet	(LR-L)
Carcharodon carcharias	great white shark	(NE)
Cinedotus froggatti	Froggatt's catfish	(DD)
Craterocephalus lentiginosus	Prince Regent hardyhead	(LR-N)
Hypseleotris ejuncida	slender gudgeon	(LR-N)
Hypseleotris kimberleyensis	Barnett River gudgeon	(LR-N)
Hypseleotris regalis	Prince Regent gudgeon	(LR-N)
* Hypseleotris n.sp.	Katherine River gudgeon	(DD)
Pingalla gilberti	Gilbert's grunter	(LR-L)
Pristis clavata	estuarine sawfish	(DD)
Pristis pectinata	wide sawfish	(DD)
Pristis zijsron	green sawfish	(DD)
Scortum hillii	leathery grunter	(DD)
Scortum neili	Angalarri grunter	(LR-N)
Syncomistes kimberleyensis	Kimberley grunter	(LR-N)
* Tandanus n.sp.	Bellinger River tandan	(DD)
Thryssa scratchleyi	freshwater anchovy	(DD)
Toxotes oligolepis	big-scale archerfish	(LR-L)

Species identified by the Committee at its 1989, 1994 and 1998 meetings as requiring investigation of their status were:

Chaetodontoplus ballinae	Ballina angelfish
Thunnus maccoyii	southern bluefin tuna
Pristis microdon	freshwater sawfish
Pristis clavata	estuarine sawfish
Pristis zijsron	green sawfish
* Glyphis sp. A	Bizant river shark
* Glyphis sp. C	northern river shark
* Percichthyidae n.sp.	Bloomfield River cod

Summary Of Conservation Status Classifications, 1989 – 1999

(Australian Society for Fish Biology)

The classifications now list the following number of species:

Classification

1999	1998	1997	1996	1995	1994	1993	1992	1991	1990	1989
Extinct
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Endangered
12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	9	8	6
Vulnerable
10	10	9	9	8	8	6	5	6	6	5
Potentiallythreatened
12	12	12	12	12	12	11	10	7	5	4
Indeterminate
3	3	4	4	4	4	3	2	2	2	2
Restricted
32	32	32	32	28	28	27	30	32	30	31
Uncertain
20	20	20	20	20	20	16	14	13	13	16
Total
89	89	89	89	84	84	74	72	69	64	65

CONSERVATION STATUS CLASSIFICATIONS

AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY FOR FISH BIOLOGY CATEGORIES

EXTINCT Taxa which are no longer found in the wild or in a domesticated state.

ENDANGERED Taxa which have suffered a population decline over all or most of their range, whether the causes of this decline are known or not, and which are in danger of extinction in the near future. (Special management measures required if the taxa are to continue to survive).

VULNERABLE Taxa not presently endangered but which are at risk by having small populations and/or populations which are declining at a rate that would render them endangered in the near future. (Special management measures required to prevent the taxa becoming endangered or extinct.)

POTENTIALLY THREATENED Taxa which could become vulnerable or endangered in the near future because they have a relatively large population in a restricted area; or they have small populations in a few areas; or they have been heavily depleted and are continuing to decline; or they are dependant on specific habitat for survival. (Require monitoring.)

INDETERMINATE Taxa which are likely to fall into the Endangered, Vulnerable or Potentially Threatened category but for which insufficient data are available to make an assessment. (Require investigation.)

RESTRICTED Taxa which are not presently in danger but which occur in restricted areas, or which have suffered a long term reduction in distribution and/or abundance and are now uncommon.

UNCERTAIN STATUS Taxa whose taxonomy, distribution and/or abundance are uncertain but which are suspected of being Restricted.

IUCN Red List Categories

EXTINCT A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died

EXTINCT IN THE WILD A taxon is Extinct In The Wild when it is known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population (or populations) well outside the past range.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED A taxon is Critically Endangered when it is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future.

ENDANGERED A taxon is Endangered when it is not Critically Endangered but is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

VULNERABLE A taxon is Vulnerable when it is not Critically Endangered or Endangered but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.

LOWER RISK A taxon is Lower Risk when it has been evaluated. does not satisfy the criteria for any of the categories Critically Endangered; Endangered; or Vulnerable. There are three sub-categories:

1) Conservation Dependent Taxa which are the focus of a continuing taxon-specific or habitat-specific conservation programme targeted towards the taxon in question, the cessation of which would result in the taxon qualifying for one of the threatened categories above within a period of five years.

2) Near Threatened Taxa which do not qualify for Conservation Dependent, but which are close to qualifying for Vulnerable.

3) Least Concern Taxa which do not qualify for Conservation Dependent or Near Threatened.

DATA DEFICIENT A taxon is Data Deficient when there is inadequate information to make a direct or indirect assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution and / or population status.

NOT EVALUATED A taxon is Not Evaluated when it has not yet been assessed against the criteria.

Note: For full definitions and details of the criteria used for each of the above categories, the reader should consult the IUCN Red List Categories, prepared by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (1994). Details are available from state members of the Threatened Fishes Committee.