Category: Queensland State Archives’ Photostream About Fortitude Valley

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

Also known as the brindlebass, brown spotted cod, or bumblebee groper, and as the Queensland groper in Australia, this is the largest bony fish found in coral reefs. It is also known to enter estuaries, such as the lowermost part of the Brisbane River.

The first known fish to undergo chemotherapy was Bubba, a Queensland goper who resided at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois. Bubba developed an unusual growth on his forehead in 2001 which was eventually diagnosed to be malignant.

The aquarium called in veterinarians to remove the growth surgically and treat Bubba with chemotherapy that year, and again in 2003 when it regrew. Nicknamed “The Super Groper”, Bubba was popular with cancer survivors, especially children. The oncology department of Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, recognized Bubba with a tile in the ward.

Information from Wikipedia articles Giant Grouper and

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

The western blue groper is a species of wrasse native to coastal waters of southern Australia from the Houtman Abrolhos in Western Australia to west of Melbourne. Adults inhabit coastal and offshore reefs in depths to 100m. Juveniles prefer relatively sheltered waters, such as shallow inshore macroalgal-covered reefs and seagrass meadows.

Benthic carnivores, they are known to feed on small crabs, smaller crustaceans, sea urchins and molluscs, including abalone. They use their strong peg-like teeth to prise urchins and molluscs off rocks, and will also bite off pieces of algal mat to eat small crustaceans and other benthic invertebrates that live among the algae.

Information from Fishes of Australia and Wikipedia.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6213

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

The golden perch is a medium-sized, yellow or gold-coloured Australian freshwater fish species found primarily in the Murray-Darling River system. However another subspecies, suspected to be ancestral to all other populations, is found in the Fitzroy River system in Queensland.

Golden perch continue the trand, among many native fish of southeast Australia, of being very long-lived. Longevity is a survival strategy in the often challenging Australian environment which ensures that most adult males participate in at least one exceptional spawning and recruitment event. These events are often linked to unusually wet La Niña years and may only occur every one or two decades. The maximum recorded age is 26 years.

Information from Wikipedia.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6244

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

Also known as the mahi-mahi, this surface-dwelling ray-finned fish is found in off-shore temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. ‘Mahi’ means ‘very strong’ in Hawaiian. Despite their common name, being fish they are not related to dolphins.

The common dolphinfish is an open ocean predator that eats small fishes, squids, and pelagic crustaceans. It is also an important prey species for sharks, billfishes, and other large predators. Therefore, much like the skipjack tuna, this species plays a vital intermediate role in open ocean food webs.

This fish is beautifully coloured – typically bright, blue, green, and gold, almost cartoon-like. Out of the water, the fish often change colour, (giving rise to their Spanish name, dorado, “golden”), going through several hues before finally fading to a muted yellow-grey upon death.

Information from Oceana and Wikipedia.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6109

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

Surgeonfish (or Tangs) are found throughout the world’s temperate and tropical oceans, and there are approximately 80 species, many of which are found on the Great Barrier Reef. The body is basically flat, and oval in shape, with a small mouth for grazing on algae (although some feed on zooplankton).

They get their name from highly modified scales that have evolved into weapon-like spines at the base of the tail. These spines are either fixed or mobile (like a flick knife) and there can be up to 6 per side, depending on the species. THey are mainly used when the fish feels threatened over territorial disputes, but fishermen have often been slashed when removing them carelessly from nets.

Like some other families of fish, they have the remarkable ability to change their colour according to their mood. The presence of a predator can cause

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

The Harlequin Smiler, like all the aptly named jawfishes has a very large mouth. It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Western Central Pacific. In Australia it is known from central to southern Queensland.

The Harlequin Smiler is golden-yellow above and blue-purple below. There are blue-edged yellow spots on the sides and a deep blue blotch on the operculum. The dorsal fin has yellow stripes and the anal fin has yellow spots.

This species occurs over the sand bottom of the continental shelf. Mouthbrooders, the eggs of this fish are clumped together in a sticky ball inside the parent’s mouth. They are sometimes released in a burrow during brief feeding periods.

Information from FishBase and Australian Museum.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6214

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

Easily recognisable by its colouration, this small sized fish is also known as the Clown Triggerfish and is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean until the western Pacific Ocean, and also the Caribbean.

Most commonly found along external reef slopes with clear water, in Australia it is known from the offshore reefs of north-western Western Australia and from the northern Great Barrier Reef to northern New South Wales.

The triggerfish has a diurnal activity, is solitary and defends a territory. It can be very aggressive with other fish and congeners. The first long dorsal spine when erected is used to impress and opponent or to avoid a predator.

Information from Australian Museum and Wikipedia.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6189

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

Also known as Ogilby’s Silverside, this is a relatively deep-bodied silvery-bluish-green hardyhead, with dark pectoral-fin tips, and a dark margin on the rear of the caudal fin.

This species is found from Flinders Bay in Western Australia, across the top of the country and down the Queensland coast to New South Wales. It forms schools in shallow sheltered bays, estuaries and coastal areas.

The hardyhead feeds on a range of small crustaceans, polychaete worms, gastropod molluscs, insects and insect larvae, foraminiferans, and plant matter.

Information from Fishes of Australia.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6178

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

Also known as the Indo-Pacific tarpon, this species is widely distributed from Australia, Japan and North Africa. The tarpon lives in many tropical areas of Australia in the tropical, coastal, and brackish waters of the Indo-Pacific oceans, and in both freshwater and saltwater.

They inhabit coral reefs, mangroves, swamps, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, floodplains, and canals. They are opportunistic feeders, feeding on smaller fish, crustaceans, and even plants. In saltwater, they mainly feed on prawns and herring, but also many other small fish.

Information from Wikipedia.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6247

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Artwork by Frank Olsen.

Also known as the spotted fanfish, Pteraclis velifera is a species of pmfret found in the Indian and western Pacific oceans from South Africa to New Zealand. It is found at depths to 500 meters. It reaches a length of 50 centimeters. Metallic silver in colour, its dorsal and anal fins are blue-black with silver trimmings.

Information from FishBase and Wikipedia.

Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 6219

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