THE NATURALIST IN AUSTRALIA. 



it may now be easily distributed to other of the more important rivers comprised 

 in the southern water-shed of that island-colony. 



The Percidfe, or Perch family proper, which is among the largest and most 

 widely distributed groups of the spined-finned or Acanthoid fishes, is very extensively 

 represented in Australian waters, both salt and fresh. The Murray Cod, Oligorus 

 macquariensis, Plate XXXI., fig. C, which represents the largest fresh-water member of 

 the group, has already been briefly referred to. The facts that the fish commonly 

 attains to a weight of 60 or 70 pounds, and has been taken over one hundred-weight, 

 and also that as large an average quantity as ten tons are supplied weekly to 

 Adelaide for several months in the year, and about half that proportion during the 

 residue, corresponding quantities going to Melbourne, Ballarat, and other Australian 

 cities, will give some idea of the abundance and commercial importance of the species. 

 The Murray river, traced from the source of its largest affluent, the Darling, 

 originating in Queensland, and flowing through the Colonies of New South Wales, 

 Victoria, and South Australia, describes a course of but little less than two 

 thousand miles. Added to this are the main river and numerous primary and 

 secondary tributaries, seven or eight of which have independent courses ranging in 

 length from 350 to 800 miles. All these streams and their affluents teem more or 

 less throughout their courses with the Murray Cod and several other allied 

 commercially valuable members of the Perch family, which, as will be readily 

 understood, provide among themselves the materials for a highly important fishing 

 industry. 



The Golden Perch, Ctenolates ambiguus; the Silver Perch, Therapon 

 Richardsoni ; Macquarie's Perch, Macquaria, australasica ; and various species of 

 Murrayia, the majority of which attain, in their adult state, to weights ranging from 

 three to five or six pounds, contribute substantially towards swelling the supply, 

 consisting chiefly of Murray Cod, that is perennially transported from the 

 Murray river to the larger Australian cities. While the Murray Cod is commonly 

 regarded as being limited in its distribution to the Murray river system, it occurs 

 also in several of the rivers of Queensland and New South Wales that debouch 

 upon the eastern coast-line. 



Western Australia possessing many rivers in its southern district which have 

 hitherto been devoid of any fish of economic value, one of the writer's latest 

 professional undertakings in that colony was the transportation thither from the 

 Murray river of a stock of young Murray Cod and Golden Perch, which should, a few 



