Neoarius midgleyi (Kailola & Pierce)

Morgan, David L., Allen, Gerald R., Pusey, Bradley J. & Burrows, Damien W., 2011, 2816, Zootaxa 2816, pp. 1-64 : 11

Neoarius midgleyi (Kailola & Pierce)

Silver Cobbler, Shovel-nosed Catfish

Neoarius midgleyi is arguably the largest of the Kimberley’s freshwater fishes, particularly if Barramundi ( Lates calcarifer (Bloch)) and Freshwater Sawfish ( Pristis microdon Latham ), which complete their life-cycle in the estuarine or marine environment, are not considered as freshwater species (Davis 1982, Allen et al. 2002, Thorburn et al. 2007). Neoarius midgelyi is currently only known from the Carson and Ord Rivers, with one specimen in the WAM collection (WAM P.25597-001 paratype, collected in 1973) recorded as being from the Fitzroy River ( Fig. 7). This location, however, is likely to be an error from the type description by Kailola and Pierce (1988) that should have had the site as the Kimberley region, exact location unknown, since the Fitzroy River was questioned in the Museum database. It must be noted that this species has not been captured within the Fitzroy River in recent times (see Morgan et al. 2002, 2004a). Prior to the recent King Edward River/Carson River study ( Morgan et al. 2006, Morgan in press), the species was only known from the Ord River, the most north-eastern river system in Western Australia, where it is extremely common.