100 
J. D. KOEHN 
eral headwater tributaries where cascades and 
very high water velocities were present. The 
specimens ranged in size from young-of-the-year 
fish with a total length of 45 mm (site 48) to 275 
mm (site 47). Although sites were not sampled 
quantitatively, G. bispinosus was considered to 
be abundant at many of them. More than 50 
specimens were collected at three sites and 20 or 
more specimens at 24 sites; in addition. Sanger 
(1990) collected a total of 1055 specimens from 
site 53 on King Parrot Creek between June 1980 
and June 1982. 
At sites for which records of other species were 
available, G . bispinosus was associated with 
brown trout, Sal mo trutta , at 95% of sites; with 
rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus my kiss, at about 
50% of sites; and with redfin, Perea Jluviatilis, at 
about 50% of sites. Other species collected with 
G. bispinosus include Murray cod, Maccullo- 
chella peeli; trout cod, M. macquariensis; Galax- 
za.S'spp., particularly, G. olidus; Australian smelt, 
Retropinna semoni ; southern pigmy perch, Nan- 
noperca australis ; and goldfish, Carassius aura - 
tus. Gadopsis marmoratus occurred in sympatry 
with G. bispinosus at sites 7, 30, 37, and 42 but 
was found without G. bispinosus in a small sam¬ 
ple upstream of site 37. G . marmoratus was com¬ 
mon at downstream localities along the northern 
and western edges of the range of G. bispi¬ 
nosus. 
DISCUSSION 
In Victoria, G. bispinosus is restricted to the 
upper reaches of streams in the north-eastern 
part of the state, in a band covering a maximum 
distance of about 100 km from the ridge of the 
Great Dividing Range (Fig. 1). The western limit 
of the range appears to be King Parrot Creek, 
about 50 km north-east of Melbourne. The nor¬ 
thern and eastern parts of the species’ range 
extend into New South Wales. The distribution 
in Victoria encompasses that previously sug¬ 
gested by Sanger (1986). 
G. bispinosus is common and abundant 
throughout most of its range in Victoria and 
appears under no immediate threat. 
Consequently, despite the lack of historical pop¬ 
ulation data, it is suggested that the conservation 
status of G. bispinosus in Victoria should be 
revised to the category' of “restricted”, in that it 
is a taxon which is “not presently in danger but 
which occurs in a restricted area” (Koehn & 
Morison 1990). This suggestion is consistent 
with the view of Sanger (1984) that G. bispinosus 
is not a rare or endangered species and should 
not be afforded greater protection than G. mar 
moratus. The latter is a popular angling species 
‘n southern V.ctor'a (Barnhara 1983, Koehn 
1984), but G. bispinosus is much smaller and is 
unlikely to be a major target species of anglers 
although it may be caught incidently. 
Cadwalladeret al.(1984) includedG, marmo- 
ratus in Category E (“requiring careful monitor¬ 
ing in Victoria”), partly because the taxonomy 
of Gadopsis was under review. For the same 
reason, the recent conservation status review 
(Koehn & Morison 1990) included G. marmor¬ 
atus in the equivalent category of “indetermi- 
nate”. 
Two distinct forms of G. marmoratus ( south¬ 
ern and northern) have been referred to bv 
recent workers (Ovendon et al. 1988, Sanger 
1986) and these may be recognised as separate 
species in the future (Sanger pers, comm.). G 
marmoratus (northern form) has been found 
with G. bispinosus at four of the sites sampled, 
and Sanger (1984) previously reported sympatry 
between these species in the upper King River. 
Although both species appear to have similarlife 
history strategies, no evidence for interspecific 
hybrids has been found (Sanger 1984). Sanger 
(1986, 1990) found G. bispinosus to have an 
extended spawning period of November- 
February, similar to that of G. marmoratus 
(Jackson 1978a, Koehn unpubl. data). It is 
assumed that spawning sites of G . bispinosusm 
similar to those of G. marmoratus ; that is, inside 
hollow logs (Jackson 1978a, Koehn unpubl. 
data) and possibly among rocks (Proebsting el 
al. 1974). Large numbers of G. bispinosus 
(including young-of-the-year-fish) have been 
collected amongst cobbles and boulders in 
stream reaches without wood debris and logs, 
and it is likely such areas may be used as 
spawning sites. 
The distribution of G. marmoratus and G. 
bispinosus in northern streams appears to be 
related to the habit and habitat requirements of 
the two species. G. marmoratus is usually assoc¬ 
iated with instream cover, showing a preference 
for habitats where water velocities are low and 
logs and wood debris abundant (Jackson 1978a. 
1978b, Koehn 1986). Such habitats tend to bein 
the lower, slower-flowing reaches of northern 
streams. G. bispinosus has mostly been found in 
clear streams with rocky bottoms where water 
velocities may be relatively high. The species 
was usually found to be utilizing some form of 
instream cover, often cobbles and boulders as 
wood debris was not always present. The species 
was not common in open water or in more 
