Silverbelly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silverbelly |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Gerreidae |
| Genus: | Parequula Steindachner, 1879 |
| Species: |
P. melbournensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Parequula melbournensis (Castelnau, 1872)
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| Synonyms | |
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The silverbelly (Parequula melbournensis) is a cool fish often called the Melbourne silver biddy. It belongs to the Garreidae family, which are known as mojarras. This fish was first described in 1872 by a scientist named Francis de Laporte de Castelnau.
The silverbelly is the only fish in its special group, called a monotypic genus, named Parequula. This group was created by Franz Steindachner in 1879. You can find these fish swimming in the coastal waters of southern Australia. They live at different depths, from about 3 meters (10 feet) down to 100 meters (328 feet) deep. The silverbelly can grow up to 22 centimeters (about 8.7 inches) long.
What Does a Silverbelly Look Like?
The silverbelly gets its name from its shiny, silvery scales. It looks a bit like another fish called the common silver belly (Gerres subfasciatus). However, there are a few ways to tell them apart.
Key Features
One main difference is its fins. The silverbelly has an anal fin that is quite long at its base. Its dorsal fin, which is the fin on its back, does not stick up very high at the front. These features help scientists tell the silverbelly apart from other similar fish.
 | James Van Der Zee |
 | Alma Thomas |
 | Ellis Wilson |
 | Margaret Taylor-Burroughs |
