Oxyeleotris lineolata (Steindachner)

Morgan, David L., Allen, Gerald R., Pusey, Bradley J. & Burrows, Damien W., 2011, 2816, Zootaxa 2816, pp. 1-64 : 20

Oxyeleotris lineolata (Steindachner)

Sleepy Cod

There appears to be confusion regarding the identification and consequent distribution of the two species of Oxyeleotris in the Kimberley (cf. Allen et al. 2002, Pusey et al. 2004). Some of this confusion stems from the general similarity of the two, particularly when preserved, and also from the fact that one of the species ( O. selheimi ) has only relatively recently been identified, having previously been referred to as Oxyeleotris sp. or O. herwerdenii Weber (a New Guinea species). For example, WAM specimens are labelled as either Oxyeleotris sp. or O. lineolata , and none are identified as O. selheimi . In fact, approximately half of the WAM specimens are identified only to genus. On examination of the specimens in the Museum, and following Allen et al. (2002), O. lineolata is found in rivers east of, and including, the Ord River catchment. All Oxyeleotris sp. examined west of the Ord system were identified, based on the characters defined by Pusey et al. (2004), as O. selheimi ( Fig. 49), although some individuals of this species were found in the Ord. It is noteworthy that while Allen and Allen (1998) captured O. lineolata from the Pentecost and Durack Rivers (to the west of the Ord system), they recorded O. selheimi from the Ord. The current distribution of O. lineolata includes rivers that drain into Cambridge Gulf, including the Durack, Pentecost and Ord ( Fig. 49).