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Life history characteristics of the estuary eeltail catfish Cnidoglanis macrocephalus (Plotosidae) in eastern Australia

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Abstract

The biology and fisheries of cobbler Cnidoglanis macrocephalus have been examined on the Australian west coast, but not the east coast. This study identified that east coast estuary cobbler was more prevalent over vegetated habitat than bare substrata and that spawning occurred during spring and early summer. Observed longevity was 9+ and 20+ years for males and females, but there were no discernible differences between sexes or estuaries in mean total length (TL) at age. The von Bertalanffy growth function of combined sexes was Linf = 61.2 cm TL, k = 0.677, t0 = 0.007. The data demonstrate similarities and differences in life history characteristics of cobbler between coasts.

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Acknowledgments

Samples of cobbler were obtained from field studies associated with Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Project 2002/059 that was supported by funding from the New South Wales and Australian Governments. Expert field and laboratory assistance was provided by NSW DPI Fisheries technicians Lachlan Barnes, Daniel Johnson, Ben Kendall, Paul Lokys, James McLeod and Damian Young. Sampling was done in accordance with the NSW DPI Animal Care and Ethics Approval 2002/15.

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  1. WildFish Research, Sydney, NSW, 2232, Australia

    Charles A. Gray

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  1. Charles A. Gray
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Correspondence to Charles A. Gray.

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Gray, C.A. Life history characteristics of the estuary eeltail catfish Cnidoglanis macrocephalus (Plotosidae) in eastern Australia. Ichthyol Res 69, 267–274 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-021-00836-z

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