Tantangara Creek, site of the Stocky galaxias. Photo credit: Mark Lintermans

About Fishes of the Murray-Darling Basin

Bringing the book to life, online

Front book cover of Fishes of the Murray–Darling Basin

The Second Edition of Fishes of the Murray-Darling Basin

Fishes of the Murray-Darling Basin by Mark Lintermans was first published in 2007 by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and subsequently reprinted in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2016. It was the first book of its kind, devoted exclusively to the fishes of Australia’s largest river system, containing rigorous information on the identification, habitats, biology and distribution of the freshwater fish of the Murray-Darling Basin, as well as background information on the threats to fish and aquatic ecosystems. It proved to be an invaluable resource for naturalists, students, fishers, scientists and anyone else interested in the life within our rivers, helping them learn about the iconic Murray cod (Australia’s largest freshwater fish), and smaller species such as galaxias, gudgeons, hardyheads and pygmy perch that inhabit the Basin’s waterways.

The second edition of Fishes of the Murray-Darling Basin, published by the Australian River Restoration Centre, is available now. The 2nd edition has been fully revised, incorporating new ecological knowledge on each species and additional species accounts. The number of species of freshwater fish now known to occur in the Basin has increased from 57 in 2007 to 63 in the 2nd edition.

This website was built as a companion site to the 2nd edition, with the goal of allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the world of the Murray-Darling Basin and its many species of fish, providing detailed information on each species, available on-the-go. This website also includes information on key topics such as threats to native fish, native fish recovery, First Nations connections, and identifying fish. This site is not a word-for-word reproduction of the book, but serves as a great resource and starting point for anglers, fishers, scientists, ecologists, fish enthusiasts and more to dip your toes in the world of the fish of the Murray-Darling Basin.

This website contains a list of online resources for further reading and research as an addition to the printed book. To view these resources, please click here.
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Fishes of the Murray-Darling Basin is a collaboration between:

This website was funded by the Native Fish Recovery Strategy. The Native Fish Recovery Strategy is funded under the joint programs coordinated by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. The joint programs promote and coordinate effective planning, management and sharing of the water and other natural resources of the Murray-Darling Basin.

The book and this website are partnership projects between the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Mark Lintermans and the Australian River Restoration Centre in the interests of raising awareness and sharing knowledge about how to protect and restore native fish populations of the Murray-Darling Basin.

The following acknowledgements from the printed version of the book indicate the highly collaborative nature of this endeavour. In Mark's words:

"Thanks are due to the many colleagues who provided unpublished data or comments on individual species accounts, particularly Hugh Allan, Marty Asmus, Harry Balcombe, Lee Baumgartner, Steve Beatty; Matt Beitzel, Chris Bice, Joanna Blessing, Chris Bloink, Ben Broadhurst; Shane Brooks, Steve Brooks, Paul Brown, Pam Clunie, Dave Crook, Trevor Daly, Sam Davis, John Douglas, Angela Duffy, Brendan Ebner, Mitch Elkins, Iain Ellis, Ben Fanson, James Fawcett, Dean Gilligan, Ivor Growns, Fern Hames, Michael Hammer, Scott Hardie, Doug Harding, Kate Hodges, Bonnie Holmes, Paul Humphries, Michael Hutchison, Simon Kaminskas, Mark Kennard, Adam Kerezsy, Alison King, Adrian Kitchingman, John Koehn, Erin Lake, Jason Lieschke, Leighton Llewellyn, Jaye Lobegeiger, Laurisse Luke, Jarod Lyon, Jon Marshall, Tim McGarry, David Moffatt, Karl Moy, Peter Negus, Andrew Norris, Luke Pearce, Giselle Pickering, Andrea Prior; Tarmo Raadik, Scott Raymond, Greg Ringwood, Peter Rose, Lara Suitor, Darren Smallwood, Dan Smith, Danswell Starrs; Jerom Stocks, Daniel Stoessel, Ivor Stuart, Richard Tilzey (dec), Jason Thiem, Ross Thompson, Zeb Tonkin, Mischa Turschwell, Peter Unmack, Jimmy Walker, Chris Walsh (dec), Scotte Wedderburn, Cam Westaway, Glenn Wilson, Nick Whiterod, Qifeng Ye, and Brenton Zampatti. Apologies to anyone I have inadvertently forgotten, and of course, any errors or omissions are entirely the fault of the author.

"Museum datasets were provided by Martin Gomon, Di Bray, Mark McGrouther, and Jeff Johnson.

"I thank Dr Phil Duncan and Brad Moggridge of the Kamilaroi (Gomeroi) Nation, Jack Livingstone of the Wiradjuri Nation, Mary Mudford of the Ngunnawal Nation and Michelle Hobbs of the Bidjara Nation for sharing information and discussions on Aboriginal culture, values and fish names.

"Various MDBA and Australian River Restoration Centre (ARRC) staff contributed to the production of this book: Greg Ringwood, Katie Ryan and Michael Wilson provided me with updated information on a variety of fishy activities; Heleena Bamford facilitated the initial approval of the rewrite, and Stuart Little patiently wrangled the process of book and early map development. Thanksto Vince Oakley, Jim Clunie, Greg Long, Ben Seddon and Amanda Spalding for assistance with mapping, and the data verification process. Matt Morrison, Paul Anderson and Greg Ringwood facilitated the collection of the photos, and provided assistance in preparing and/or sourcing illustrations, commenting on text and generally massaging the process to ensure this book was produced. Thanks to Siwan Lovett for resurrecting the book with MDBA after several years of dormancy, and to Matt Morrison for patiently dealing with my disappearances into the field, my proneness to distraction with other ‘shiny’ things and prolonged periods of radio silence. Special thanks to Lucy, who once again tolerated me locking myself away to write.

"The photographs of the fish are worth a thousand words—thanks to the late Gunther Schmida, Neil Armstrong, Tarmo Raadik, Michael Hammer, Rudi Kuiter, Luke Pearce, Karl Moy, Ross Felix, Dave Wilson, Jared Lyon, Neil Armstrong, Kylie Hall, Ivor Stuart, Nick Whiterod, David Short, Scotte Wedderburn, Michael Hutchison, Graeme McCrabb, Esther Beaton, and Andy McGovern for their stunning images. Thanks to Mike Bowers for the author photo. Thanks also to Brad Moggridge for his inspiring artwork of three MDB fishes.

"This book was written on Ngunnawal land."

Discover related content on the Finterest website, your home for stories about our Australian Freshwater Native Fish.

Since 2013, Finterest has been sharing great stories and information about the work being undertaken across Australia to bring back our native fish, particularly across the Murray-Darling Basin. It's a great source of inspiration and knowledge for anyone interested in Australian freshwater fish and native fish, and is updated with new stories regularly.
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