''Macquaria'' is a genus of medium-sized, predatory

temperate perch The members of the family Percichthyidae are known as the temperate perches. They belong to the order Perciformes, the perch-like fishes. The name Percichthyidae derives from the Latin ''perca'' for perch and Ancient Greek ἰχθύς, ''ichthy ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Australia. They are found in rivers and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

of the eastern part of the continent.

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Macquaria ambigua'' ( J. Richardson, 1845), commonly known as

golden perch The golden perch (''Macquaria ambigua'') is a medium-sized, yellow or gold-coloured species of Australian freshwater fish found primarily in the Murray-Darling River system, though a subspecies is found in the Lake Eyre- Cooper Creek system ...

or "yellowbelly" * ''

Macquaria australasica The Macquarie perch (''Macquaria australasica'') is an Australian native freshwater fish of the Murray-Darling river system. It is a member of the family Percichthyidae and is closely related to the golden perch (''Macquaria ambigua''). Th ...

'' ( G. Cuvier, 1830), commonly known as

Macquarie perch The Macquarie perch (''Macquaria australasica'') is an Australian native freshwater fish of the Murray-Darling river system. It is a member of the family Percichthyidae and is closely related to the golden perch (''Macquaria ambigua''). Th ...

* ''

Macquaria colonorum The estuary perch (''Macquaria colonorum'') is a species of temperate perch endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it prefers brackish waters such as lower tidal reaches of coastal lakes, rivers, and streams. Appearance It is very similar to ...

'' ( Günther, 1863), commonly known as

estuary perch The estuary perch (''Macquaria colonorum'') is a species of temperate perch endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it prefers brackish waters such as lower tidal reaches of coastal lakes, rivers, and streams. Appearance It is very similar t ...

* '' Macquaria novemaculeata'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...

, 1866), commonly known as

Australian bass The Australian bass (''Macquaria novemaculeata'') is a small- to medium-sized species of primarily freshwater (but estuarine spawning) fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia. A member of the genus '' Macqu ...

Taxonomy

Some workers have found that the genus ''Macquaria'' is

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

and that the two

catadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

species ''

'' and '' M. novemaculeata'' are not the closest relatives of the other two species in the genus and are placed in the genus '' Percalates'' in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

family Percalatidae These authors also found that the Percichthyidae and the Percalatidae were part of one of three cladea within a new

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

, the Centrarchiformes in the

Percomorpha Percomorpha () is a large clade of ray-finned fish that includes the tuna, seahorses, gobies, cichlids, flatfish, wrasse, perches, anglerfish, and pufferfish. Evolution Percomorpha are the most diverse group of teleost fish today. Teleosts, a ...

. Abstract

References

Percichthyidae Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Georges Cuvier {{Perciformes-stub