Australian smelt

Australian smelt
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Osmeriformes
Family:	Retropinnidae
Genus:	Retropinna
Species:	R. semoni
Binomial name
Retropinna semoni (M. C. W. Weber, 1895)

The Australian smelt (Retropinna semoni) is a small, pelagic silvery freshwater fish found in large numbers in waters of the south eastern Australian mainland.

The fish is endemic to Australia and widely distributed through the coastal drainages of the south eastern part of the mainland. The species is found in coastal drainages from the south east corner of South Australia through Victoria, New South Wales to the Fitzroy River in south east Queensland. It occurs widely in the Murray River and its tributaries and up the Darling as far upstream as Wilcannia. There are isolated populations in the Coopers Creek which drains into Lake Eyre and several smaller ones in north-western New South Wales and southern Queensland. Recent genetic research indicates Australian smelt stocks are composed of 5 highly genetically distinct and as yet undescribed species (Hammer et al., 2007).

A small silvery fish to 75 mm total length, very occasionally to 100 mm. In Coopers Creek usually only to 50 mm. It is somewhat olive above and purple along the sides, with a white belly and colourless fins.

Often found in large schools of thousands, this pelagic species prefers slow moving or still waters. It is often found in billabongs, dams and lakes at various salinity levels and in the lower reaches of rivers and streams. Although there have been some reports of diadromous populations, this fish usually completes its entire life cycle in freshwater. They shoal near the surface and around the cover of aquatic plants and woody debris.

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