Craterocephalus fluviatilis McCulloch, 1912
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Murray hardyhead (Craterocephalus fluviatilis) is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to inland parts of southeastern Australia. The fish is an omnivore, feeding on small crustaceans, aquatic insects and algae.
It was first proposed as a distinct species by Allan Riverstone McCulloch in 1912. However, throughout much of the 20th century, it was lumped with the Lake Eyre hardyhead under the scientific name Craterocephalus eyresii. Compared to its closest relatives in the Lake Eyre hardyhead species complex, which inhabit remote desert rivers, the Murray hardyhead is found in more easily-accessible habitat. Consequently, it was the only member of the complex that was comprehensively studied, but most of these studies called it C.eyresii. It was only since the 1990s that its distinctness from that taxon was finally understood, and McCulloch's name re-validated.
Wikipedia contributors, Murray hardyhead; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:25:44.084462+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Craterocephalus fluviatilis McCulloch, 1912
- Name authority
- McCulloch, 1912
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Atheriniformes
- Family
- Craterocephalidae
- Genus
- Craterocephalus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAtheriniformes
- suborderAtherinoidei
- familyCraterocephalidae Dyer & Chernoff, 1996
- subfamilyCraterocephalinae Dyer & Chernoff, 1996
- genusCraterocephalus McCulloch, 1912
- speciesCraterocephalus fluviatilis McCulloch, 1912
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Craterocephalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Craterocephalus amniculus Crowley & Ivantsoff, 1990 | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus cuneiceps Whitley, 1944 | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus dalhousiensis Ivantsoff & Glover, 1974 | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus honoriae (Ogilby, 1912) | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus kailolae Ivantsoff, Crowley & Allen, 1987 | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus laisapi Larson, Ivantsoff & Crowley, 2005 | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus lentiginosus Ivantsoff, Crowley & Allen, 1987 | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus munroi Crowley & Ivantsoff, 1988 | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum (Günther, 1867) | CraterocephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Craterocephalus fluviatillis McCulloch, 1912 McCulloch, 1912 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- McCulloch, A. R. (1912). Notes on some Australian Atherinidae. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, v. 24: 47–53, Pl. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6BCQ3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.