ATHERINIDAE, Hardyheads or silversides
Past records of fly specked hardyheads (C. stercusmuscarun) in Central Australia are now applicable to Glover's hardyhead.
To 50mm (2in) SL.
Listed as Vulnerable by the Australian Society for Fish Biology.
Known from only three springs at Dalhousie Springs (shown by the black dot). They are usually very abundant.
Morphologically they are similar to Dalhousie hardyhead which makes them difficult to distinguish. In fact, they were only recently recognised as a new species. This species tends to inhabit slightly cooler springs than Dalhousie hardyhead and they also appear to be sympatric in one spring. They are generally found in pools and channels in the spring outflows. Glover's hardyheads appear to be omnivorous.
In aquaria this species lays a few eggs a day and appears to spawn at slightly lower temperatures than Dalhousie hardyhead. It is not known whether they reproduce all year round or seasonally in the wild.
The greatest threat is their restricted range. At Dalhousie Springs, the principal threat is the potential introduction of exotic species.
Dalhousie Springs is completely enclosed within Witjira National Park. There is also ongoing population monitoring being conducted by Bryan Pierce from the South Australian Research and Development Institute.
Continue regular population monitoring.
Glover, C. J. M. 1989. Fishes. In, Natural History of Dalhousie Springs. Eds. Zeidler, W. & Ponder, W. F. South Australian Museum, Adelaide. pp 89-112.
Crowley, L. E. L. M. & Ivantsoff, W. 1989. An historical overview of the genus Craterocephalus with special reference to the hardyheads from Dalhousie Springs. In, Natural History of Dalhousie Springs. Eds. Zeidler, W. & Ponder, W. F. South Australian Museum, Adelaide. pp 113-118.
Crowley, L. E. L. M. & Ivantsoff, W. 1990a. A second hardyhead, Craterocephalus gloveri (Pisces: Atherinidae), from Dalhousie Springs, Central Australia. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 1(2): 113-122.
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This file was last modified: 18 March 2003