Temperate perch

Temperate Perch

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Temperate perch

The members of Percichthyidae family are known as the temperate perches. They belong to the Order Perciformes

Perciformes

The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all bony fish and are the largest order of vertebrata....
or perch-like fishes.

The name Percichthyidae derives from the Ancient Greek words Perca for 'perch' and ichthyos for 'fish' and translated basically means perch-like fishes.

temperate perches are closely related to the temperate basses of the Moronidae

Moronidae

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Encyclopedia

The members of Percichthyidae family are known as the temperate perches. They belong to the Order Perciformes

Perciformes

Classification

The temperate perches are closely related to the temperate basses of the Moronidae

Moronidae

Moronidae, also known as the "temperate basses", is a family of perciform fish consisting of 6 freshwater and marine species. Similar to Acropomatidae, Moronidae fish are most commonly found near the coastal regions of eastern North America and Europe....
Family, and older literature treats the latter as a belonging to the Percichthyidae Family. Australian freshwater Percichthyids were once placed in the Serranidae (marine grouper) family, and the two families are considered to have some link to each other.

Around 22 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
of Percichthyids are now recognised, grouped in around 11 genera

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
. Most but not all are freshwater fishes. They are mainly found in Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes ....
and South America

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, though some (notably genus Siniperca, which has the largest number of species) are native to Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and some of the marine species are found as far north in the Pacific as California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
.

Species

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
has the greatest number of Percichthyid species, where they are represented by the Australian freshwater cods (Maccullochella spp.), which are Murray cod

Murray Cod

Mary River cod

Mary River Cod are a Maccullochella cod found in the coastal Mary River system of southern Queensland, Australia. Mary River Cod are significant because they are the most northerly of the four Maccullochella cods found or once found in coastal river systems of eastern Australia....
, eastern freshwater cod

Eastern freshwater cod

Eastern freshwater cod, Maccullochella ikei, also known as eastern cod, are a large and striking predatory freshwater fish of the Maccullochella genus and the Percichthyidae family....
and trout cod

Trout Cod

The trout cod, Maccullochella macquariensis, is a large and striking predatory freshwater fish of the Maccullochella genus and the Percichthyidae family which was originally found in the south-east corner of the Murray-Darling river system in Australia....
, by the Australian freshwater blackfishes (Gadopsis spp.), which are river blackfish

River Blackfish

The river blackfish, is an Australian native freshwater fish of the Murray River-Darling River river system, found from southern Queensland through to central Victoria ....
and two-spined blackfish

Two-spined blackfish

The two-spined blackfish, Gadopsis bispinosus, is an Australian native freshwater fish. It is a speciated, more specialised upland variant of the river blackfish, Gadopsis marmoratus....
, and by the Australian freshwater perches (Macquaria spp.), which are golden perch

Golden perch

The golden perch, Macquaria ambigua, is an Australian native freshwater fish, primarily of the Murray River-Darling River river system.The genus name for golden perch ? Macquaria ? derives from the Macquarie River where the first species in the genus was collected....
, Macquarie perch

Macquarie perch

The Macquarie perch is an Australian native freshwater fish of the Murray-Darling basin. It is a member of the Percichthyidae family and is closely related to the golden perch ....
, Australian bass

Australian bass

Australian bass are a small to medium sized, primarily freshwater native fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia....
and estuary perch

Estuary perch

The estuary perch, Macquaria colonorum, is an Australian species of the Percichthyidae family.It is very similar to and very closely related to its sister species the Australian bass, Macquaria novemaculeata....
.

Several other Australian freshwater species also sit within the Percichthyidae Family while research using mitochondrial DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
suggests the species of the Nannopercidae family are in reality Percichthyids as well. Australia is unique in having a freshwater fish fauna dominated by Percichthyids and allied families/species. This in contrast to Europe and Asia whose fish faunas are dominated by members of the Cyprinidae carp family. (Australia does not have a single naturally occurring Cyprinid species; unfortunately the illegal introduction of carp has now established the family's presence in Australia.)

A number of species are or have been important food species; some of these (e.g. the Murray cod

Murray Cod

The Murray cod is a large Australian predatory freshwater fish of the Maccullochella genus and the Percichthyidae family. Although the species is a called cod in the vernacular, it is not related to the northern hemisphere marine cod species....
, Maccullochella peelii peelii) have become threatened through overfishing and river regulation, while others (e.g. the Chinese perch, Siniperca chuatsi), are now farmed to some extent. Some smaller species (e.g. Balston's pygmy perch

Balston's Pygmy Perch

The balston's pygmy perch is a species of perch in the Percichthyidae family.It is found only in Australia....
, Nannatherina balstoni) are popular in aquaria

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. fishkeeping use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants....
.

The extremely rare Bloomfield River cod

Bloomfield River Cod

The Bloomfield River cod is a very small fish in the Guyu genus and the Percichthyidae family that is only found in an 11 kilometre stretch of the Bloomfield River in North Queensland, Australia....
, Guyu wujalwujalensis, is only found in a short stretch of the Bloomfield River in north Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
.