Pinkeye mullet

{{Short description|Species of ray-finned fish}} {{Speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Brooks, S. |author2=Gilligan, D. |author3=Butler, G. |year=2019 |title=''Trachystoma petardi'' |article-number=e.T197063A2478758 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T197063A2478758.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Trachystoma petardi | parent_authority = [[James Douglas Ogilby|Ogilby]], 1888<ref name = CoF>{{Cof record|genid=4309|title=''Trachystoma''|access-date=4 November 2018}}</ref> | authority = ([[Francis de Laporte de Castelnau|Castelnau]], 1875) | synonyms = *''Mugil petardi'' Castelnau, 1875 *''Myxus petardi'' (Castelnau, 1875) *''Mugil breviceps'' [[Franz Steindachner|Steindachner]], 1866 *''Trachystoma multidens'' Ogilby, 1888 *''Myxus multidens'' (Ogilby, 1888) *''Mugil parviceps'' [[Edgar Ravenswood Waite|Waite]], 1904 }}

The '''pinkeye mullet''' ('''''Trachystoma petardi'''''), also known simply as '''pinkeye''', or '''freshwater mullet''', '''Richmond mullet''', or '''river mullet''',<ref name=FoA/> is a species of [[ray-finned fish]] from the [[Mullet (fish)|grey mullet]] [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Mugilidae]] and the only species in the genus '''''Trachystoma'''''.<ref name="fishbasegen">{{FishBase genus |genus= Trachystoma|month=November|year=2018}}</ref><ref name = FishBase>{{FishBase|Trachysoma|petardi|month-June|year=2018}}</ref> It is [[Endemism|endemic]] to northeastern Australia where it occurs from the [[Burnett River]] in [[Queensland]] to the [[Clyde River (New South Wales)|Clyde River]] in [[New South Wales]]. It is a subtropical species which is found in deep, slow flowing sections of rivers as well as in estuaries although it moves into coastal seas to [[Spawn (biology)|spawn]]. It feeds mainly on [[algae]] and plant material, as well as [[detritus]] and benthic invertebrates.<ref name = FoA>{{cite web | author = Martin F. Gomon | title = ''Trachystoma petardi'' | work = Fishes of Australia | access-date = 4 Nov 2018 | url = http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4470 | publisher = Museums Victoria}}</ref>

The pinkeye mullet was originally described by [[Francis de Laporte de Castelnau]] in 1875 as ''Mugil petardi''. The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] honours a Mr Petard who sent Castelnau [[Zoological specimen|specimens]] of fishes he collected in the [[Richmond River]] in New South Wales; these included the [[Type (biology)|type]] of this species.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = http://www.etyfish.org/mugiliformes/ | title = Order MUGILIFORMES (Mullets)| access-date= 28 April 2024 | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara | date = 17 September 2022 |version= v. 4.0}}</ref>

It is a dark greenish-brown mullet with a silvery belly and pale yellowish fins. It has a body which is deep and robust with a small mouth and small eyes. It grows to up to {{convert|80|cm|in}} in [[standard length]], although {{convert|40|cm|in}} is more usual.<ref name = FoA/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Mugilidae]] [[Category:Fish described in 1875]] [[Category:Taxa named by François-Louis Laporte, comte de Castelnau]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of Australia]]