purple-spotted gudgeon

Open encyclopedia reference

Mogurnda adspersa (commonly known as the southern purple-spotted gudgeon) is a species of endangered gudgeon that is endemic to south-eastern mainland Australia (the states of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria and Queensland). The fish is brown, although the shade becomes lighter near its abdomen. Spots of various colours occur on its sides. After a dramatic population decline in the late 20th century, the fish was thought to be locally extinct in several areas, but was rediscovered both in South Australia and Victoria in the 21st century. Various state governments, the (Commonwealth Government) Murray-Darling Basin Authority, and various volunteer organisations have been taking measures to increase the fish's numbers.

Wikipedia contributors, Mogurnda adspersa; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:56:29.287407+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Mogurnda adspersa (Castelnau, 1878)

Name authority

(Castelnau, 1878)

Common name

purple-spotted gudgeon

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Gobiiformes

Family

Eleotridae

Genus

Mogurnda

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderGobiiformes
11. familyEleotridae Bonaparte, 1835
12. genusMogurnda Gill, 1863
13. speciesMogurnda adspersa (Castelnau, 1878)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Mogurnda. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 102 records assigned to Eleotridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=991280 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:6RMQB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.