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Australian native fish, Australian bass,
Australian Bass Fact/Care sheet
Macquaria novemaculeata Steindachner, 1866
An Australian Bass at a depth of 5.5m, Bellinger River near Thora (west of
Bellingen), north-eastern New South Wales, February 2002. View
larger image.
An Australian Bass photographed at
Sydney Aquarium. View
larger image.
An Australian Bass. Note the distinct spiny and soft-rayed dorsal fins. View
larger image.
 The
Australian Bass has dark scale margins and pale belly. View
larger image.
 The
Australian Bass has a distinctly forked caudal fin. View
larger
image.
The Australian Bass can be recognised by a combination of characters
including an evenly arched dorsal profile, a snout that is straight or slightly
concave and a forked caudal fin. It has a protruding lower jaw, moderately large
eyes and a notch between the spiny first dorsal fin and the soft-rayed second
dorsal fin.
This species is dark olive-green or greyish on the back and sides with darker
scale margins. The belly is silvery or whitish, and the fins are mostly dusky
brown to black. The tips of the anal and pelvic fins are white. Juvenile fish
under 12cm long are banded and have a dark blotch on the gill cover.
The Australian Bass eats fishes, crustaceans and other invertebrates such as
insects. It grows to 60cm (3.8kg) in length, but fishes of 35cm (1kg) are more
commonly seen.
It can migrate considerable distances upstream and has been historically
recorded up to an altitude of 600m in the Hawkesbury River drainage, New South
Wales.
In recent years, population sizes have declined as building of dams and weirs
has made potential habitats inaccessible. River regulation is reported to
interfere with spawning cues. In winter, adults migrate downstream to estuaries
to breed.
It is recorded in coastal rivers, lakes and estuaries of eastern Australia
from Fraser Island, Queensland to Wilson's Promontory, Victoria.
There is a map of the collecting localities of
specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Australian Bass is a very popular recreational angling species.
Four species of Macquaria are recorded from Australia. The Estuary
Perch Macquaria colonorum looks similar to the Australian Bass, but has
a longer snout which is concave in profile. The Macquarie Perch Macquaria
australasica has a rounded to truncate caudal fin and jaws of equal
length in larger specimens. The Golden Perch Macquaria ambigua is
recognised by its protruding lower jaw and the strongly concave head profile of
larger specimens.
Large numbers of bass have been seen in the Burrum River near Howard
Queensland Australia
FISH BREEDERS QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA
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