Gulf saratoga
Encyclopedia
The gulf saratoga, Scleropages jardinii, is a freshwater
bony fish native to Australia
and New Guinea
, one of two species of fishes sometimes known as Australian arowana
s, the other being the saratoga
(S. leichardti). It has numerous other common names, including northern saratoga, Australian bonytongue, toga and barramundi (not to be confused with the barramundi
perch, Lates calcarifer). It is a member of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, a (basal
) teleost group. Its scientific name is sometimes spelled S. jardini.
S. jardinii is found in both fast-moving and still waters of northern Australia and New Guinea
. It is not considered endangered or threatened by either the CITES conventions nor the IUCN Red List
.
, S. formosus. It grows to a length of about 90 cm (35 in.). Its maximum weight is recorded as 17.2 kg (38 lb.), but one report suggests it has been known to weigh as much as 27 kg (59 lb.). The depth of the bodies of adults is approximately 25-28% of the Standard Length, making this a more robust fish than its Australian cousin S. leichardti.
Like other arowanas, it is a mouthbrooder, but unlike the Asian Arowana, reports suggest the female rather than the male broods the young in her mouth.
Due to their resemblance to the Asian arowanas they are sometimes sold in the name of golden arowana in some of the Asian countries, like India. However they can be easily distinguished from the Asian arowanas by identifying their red spotted fins & 7-8 rows of scales on their body.
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
bony fish native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, one of two species of fishes sometimes known as Australian arowana
Arowana
Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the family Osteoglossidae, also known as bonytongues. In this family of fishes, the head is bony and the elongate body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and the anal fins have soft rays and are long based, while the...
s, the other being the saratoga
Saratoga (fish)
The saratoga, Scleropages leichardti, also known as the spotted bonytongue, spotted saratoga, or southern saratoga, is a freshwater bony fish native to Australia. It belongs to the subfamily Osteoglossinae, or arowanas, a primitive group of teleosts. Like all arowanas, it is a carnivorous...
(S. leichardti). It has numerous other common names, including northern saratoga, Australian bonytongue, toga and barramundi (not to be confused with the barramundi
Barramundi
The Barramundi , also known as Asian Seabass, is a species of catadromous fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. The native species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Persian Gulf, through Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia. Known in Thai...
perch, Lates calcarifer). It is a member of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, a (basal
Primitive (biology)
Primitive in the sense most relevant to phylogenetics means resembling the first living things and in particular resembling them in the simple nature of their anatomy and behaviour...
) teleost group. Its scientific name is sometimes spelled S. jardini.
S. jardinii is found in both fast-moving and still waters of northern Australia and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. It is not considered endangered or threatened by either the CITES conventions nor the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
.
Description
This fish has a long, dark-colored body with seven rows of large scales, each with several reddish or pinkish spots arranged in a crescent shape around the trailing edge of the scale, giving it a pearly appearance. Its has large, wing-like pectoral fins. Except for duller coloration and smaller scale size, it appears very similar to the Asian arowanaAsian arowana
The Asian arowana comprises several varieties of freshwater fish in the genus Scleropages. Some sources differentiate these varieties into multiple species, while others consider the different strains to belong to a single species, Scleropages formosus...
, S. formosus. It grows to a length of about 90 cm (35 in.). Its maximum weight is recorded as 17.2 kg (38 lb.), but one report suggests it has been known to weigh as much as 27 kg (59 lb.). The depth of the bodies of adults is approximately 25-28% of the Standard Length, making this a more robust fish than its Australian cousin S. leichardti.
Like other arowanas, it is a mouthbrooder, but unlike the Asian Arowana, reports suggest the female rather than the male broods the young in her mouth.
Due to their resemblance to the Asian arowanas they are sometimes sold in the name of golden arowana in some of the Asian countries, like India. However they can be easily distinguished from the Asian arowanas by identifying their red spotted fins & 7-8 rows of scales on their body.