Chlamydogobius micropterus
Elizabeth Springs Desert-goby
One of six known desert gobies, all in the endemic Australian genus Chlamydogobius and all restricted to isolated Great Artesian Basin springs or similarly cut-off desert waters. Aquarium biology is presumed broadly similar to the widely-kept Chlamydogobius eremius (Desert Goby, covered in its own account above) unless noted otherwise below.
Species Summary
Chlamydogobius micropterus has an extremely small range, restricted to the outflow channels of the larger springs at Elizabeth Springs National Park in western Queensland, with a total population estimated at only 1,000–2,000 individuals. It is listed as Endangered by the Australian Society for Fish Biology, threatened by decreasing spring flow and cattle disturbance of its already tiny habitat. Males and females look similar, a mottled grey overall, with males showing a bluish dark blotch towards the rear of the first dorsal fin’s base.
A Spring Under Pressure
A 2015 conservation survey found the species’ entire spring-mound habitat visibly degraded compared with photographs taken as recently as 2000 and 2008, with encroaching cattle and feral pig trampling identified as major threats alongside the risk posed by invasive Eastern Gambusia and ongoing regional groundwater extraction lowering artesian pressure across the Great Artesian Basin. The article weighed the merits of establishing a captive “insurance population” against the practical difficulty of accessing such a remote, legally protected site.
Compiled for Home of the Rainbowfish from ANGFA sources: N. Armstrong, “Desert gobies Chlamydogobius”, Fishes of Sahul 15, 2001, pp. 740–749; D. Roberts, “What is the future of the critically endangered Elizabeth Springs goby?”, Fishes of Sahul 29, 2015, pp. 922–933.