Golden Perch

The golden perch, Macquaria ambigua, is an Australian native freshwater fish, primarily of the Murray-Darling river system. It is not a true perch of the genus Perca.

The genus name Macquaria derives from the Macquarie River where the first species in the genus was collected. The specific name for golden perch—ambigua—may derive from Latin form of the word 'ambiguous', which has connations : of "two or more sides", and thus refer to the strong lateral compression (narrow, deep, flanks) adult golden perch display, but more likely refers to the confusion over where the original specimen ('holotype') was collected. (Richardson marked the specimen as having been collected from a marine environment.) These fish are also commonly known as "Callop" (particularly in South Australia), and can easily be distinguished from Silver Perch by a much larger mouth and pronounced hump on their head (in the latter stages of Juvenile life).