{"id":96178,"date":"2025-10-24T20:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/96178\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T20:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:49:10","slug":"breeding-colony-of-rare-swamp-creatures-discovered-during-12-year-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/96178\/","title":{"rendered":"Breeding colony of rare swamp creatures discovered during 12-year search"},"content":{"rendered":"

Underneath a tree, in the swampy waters of a pond at the bottom of a valley, New Zealand<\/a> species recovery experts have found a small colony of rare eel-like creatures.<\/p>\n

Black mudfish<\/a> were once the nation\u2019s most common freshwater fish, but numbers have sharply declined as habitat has been destroyed, and it was thought to be locally extinct at the farm the team were searching, northwest of Auckland in Helensville.<\/p>\n

Matthew Bloxham, a freshwater ecologist at Auckland Council, said the find was \u201cexciting\u201d because there are only half a dozen sites across the city where the species is known to survive, and none of them are secure. Sadly, one population was recently destroyed when it was discovered during road widening works, and attempts to recover the fish failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe occasionally find them in the most unlikely habitats, but only very occasionally,\u201d Bloxham told Yahoo News Australia.<\/p>\n

Related: Camera captures critically endangered nocturnal animal not seen since the 1990s in NSW<\/a><\/p>\n

Incredible survival technique of swamp-dwelling fish<\/p>\n

Black mudfish are famous for their resilience to drying conditions, which they can survive for months by secreting themselves into mud or under wood, then lowering their metabolic rate. Today, most of the locations where they survive dry up over the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey prefer permanent water, but drying gives them a slight advantage. It allows them to outcompete other fish that can\u2019t make a go of things,\u201d Bloxham said.<\/p>\n

The species grows to 12cm, and its movement is more similar to that of an eel. Bloxham, who has been in his role for 12 years, monitoring the region\u2019s ecology, admits to being biased when it comes to how much he appreciates its appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re quite muted, they\u2019re not colourful, and they look like swamp-dwelling fish. But they\u2019re kind of cute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Left:<\/p>\n

The team discovered mudfish of various sizes in the swamp in Helensville. Source: Emma Baker<\/p>\n

Major threat to last of the black mudfish<\/p>\n

Black mudfish thrive when undisturbed, but it is considered a fragile \u201cGoldilocks species\u201d that requires habitat to be \u201cjust right\u201d. Plans to rewild captive-bred fish from Auckland Zoo haven\u2019t eventuated because a release location hasn\u2019t been found.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re not the kind of fish that are very adaptable. They can’t just move from one wetland into another, because they have become more piecemeal in terms of geographical location,\u201d Bloxham said.<\/p>\n

Today, they\u2019re only found in small pockets of the North Island \u2014 lower Waikato, Hauraki Plains, Auckland, and Northland. Invasive fish species and plants have denuded their preferred wetland habitat \u2014 in Waikato, around 90 per cent has been destroyed.<\/p>\n

Moment rare fish rediscovered in pond<\/p>\n

Previous surveys of the Helensville rediscovery site had failed to find any of the fish since 2010, long before Bloxham joined the team. Over time, the surrounding area had been turned into pasture, and vegetation had fallen into the wetlands, eroding them.<\/p>\n

Looking at aerial images, the team couldn\u2019t find a suitable location to set up their nets, and then walking across the paddocks in September, the landscape looked dry.<\/p>\n

But then they found eight in a small pond around described as “half the size of a kitchen table”. And oddly, they were found in water directly under a willow tree \u2014 an introduced species known for degrading mudfish habitat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey seem to be breeding in there, which is really good.\u201d Bloxham said.<\/p>\n

More stories from across the ditchSecond new population discovery renews hope for rare fish<\/p>\n

In the coming years, climate change<\/a> is expected to continue to dry out habitats, putting further pressure on the fish, which is listed as At-Risk of Declining on the New Zealand threatened species classification system, and endangered on the international Red List.<\/p>\n

For over a decade, the Auckland council team has searched for new populations of black mudfish, but they\u2019ve only found two populations in that time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what\u2019s really interesting is that as a result of the [September rediscovery], we had a bit of a cast around, looking for similar wetland habitat close by, and we found one within five kilometres that had all the same attributes,\u201d Bloxham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we just found another population there last week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The find has given the team hope that the species can be saved from the threat of extinction. But the challenge ahead is not only finding more black mudfish, but also protecting the habitats of known populations.<\/p>\n

Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? \ud83d\udc0a\ud83e\udd98\ud83d\ude33 Get our new newsletter<\/a> showcasing the week\u2019s best stories.<\/p>\n

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