Spotted blue-eye

The spotted blue-eye (Pseudomugil

gertrudae) is a species of fish in the
family Pseudomugilidae. It is native to
Papua New Guinea and northern
Australia. It adapts readily to captivity
and can be kept in a small freshwater
aquarium.[1]
 Spotted blue-eye

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Atheriniformes

Family: Pseudomugilidae

Genus: Pseudomugil

Species: P. gertrudae

Binomial name

Pseudomugil gertrudae
M. C. W. Weber, 1911
Taxonomy
Max Carl Wilhelm Weber described
Pseudomugil gertrudae in 1911 from
specimens collected from Trangan
Island in the Aru Islands,[2] naming it in
honour of Gertrude, the wife of Dr. Hugo
Merton, who visited the islands in 1907-
08.[3] Common names include spotted
blue-eye, delicate blue-eye,[2] Gertrude's
blue-eye, and northern blue-eye.[4]

Description
The spotted blue-eye has an elongated
body generally up to 2.5 cm (1 in), or
rarely 3 cm (1.2 in) in length. The overall
colour is transparent to pale silver-white,
sometimes with tints of tan or yellow.
The rear half of the body is marked with
three horizontal black lines, breaking up
into spots anteriorly. The fins are yellow
with black markings.[2] Body size, colour
and shape vary across its range: fish
from the Aru Islands are larger, those
from the vicinity of Darwin have orange
pectoral fins, while fish from Goanna
Lagoon in Arnhem Land have an orange
body.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The spotted blue-eye is found in rivers in
southern New Guinea, the Aru Islands,
and the Northern Territory and Cape York
Peninsula (Queensland) in Australia.
Their habitat includes small slow-moving
streams, often less than 60 cm (2 ft)
deep, pools, and Melaleuca or Pandanus
swamps.[2] They have been found in
water of pH 3.68 to 9.4.[3]

Feeding
Though its diet has been little-studied,
algae and small invertebrates make up a
large part of it.[2]

Breeding
Though little is known of its reproductive
behaviour in the wild, the spotted blue-
eye breeds readily in captivity.[2]
References
1. Fleuren, John (1996). "Pseudomugil
gertrudae - The Spotted Blue-Eye" . CDAS
Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
2. Brad Pusey; Mark Kennard; Angela
Arthington, eds. (2004). Freshwater Fishes
of North-Eastern Australia. Collingwood,
Victoria: Csiro Publishing. pp. 269–71.
ISBN 9780643098954.
3. Tappin, Adrian R. (May 2013).
"Pseudomugil gertrudae" . Home of the
Rainbowfish. ANGFA Qld. Retrieved
9 March 2015.
4. Dianne J. Bray & Vanessa J. Thompson
(2011). "Spotted Blue Eye, Pseudomugil
gertrudae" . Fishes of Australia. Retrieved
9 March 2015.

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