The southern saratoga is a species of fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 in the Osteoglossidae family. It is endemic to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

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Description

Southern saratoga can grow up to 90 cm (4 kg). At sexual maturity they are usually 48–49 cm in length. They are primitive, surface-dwelling fish with strongly compressed bodies. They have an almost perfectly flat back, with a dorsal fin set back towards the tail of their long bodies. They are dark brown to olive green along the back, with lighter sides and a white belly. The large, bony scales have small orange or red dots. The lower jaw slopes steeply upwards and carries two fleshy barbels on the chin.

Habitat/distribution

Southern saratoga are native to the Fitzroy River system. They are commonly found in freshwater impoundments on the Mary, Dawson and Burnett rivers. Stocks have also been introduced to dams on the Brisbane and Noosa Rivers. Southern saratoga prefer still waters and slow flowing sections of rivers and can be found sheltering in lily-pads or below fallen timber. They are very aggressive and territorial fish.

Source

• Wager, R. 1996. Scleropages leichhardti. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 5 August 2007.