The Mary Catchment Area has been identified as a hotspot for aquatic biodiversity and contains a number of species found nowhere else in the world. The exhibit takes you on the Mary River’s journey from freshwater to brackish water and finally saltwater when it empties into the sea.
What makes it unique
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Extreme fish
Meet some of the most peculiar fish around - the lunged one, the expert archer and the one that ‘skips’ about on land.
First up is the Australian lungfish which can survive in stagnant water by gulping air into its modified swim bladder, which functions as a lung. It survives for short periods of time in this way, but unlike the African lungfish, cannot survive if its habitat dries up.
Lungfish have fleshy fins that resemble primitive limbs and are considered to the ancestors of land vertebrates. Australian lungfish have very long live span - 'Granddad’ in Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, passed away in 2017, at what was estimated to be over 100 years old!
First up is the Australian lungfish which can survive in stagnant water by gulping air into its modified swim bladder, which functions as a lung. It survives for short periods of time in this way, but unlike the African lungfish, cannot survive if its habitat dries up.
Lungfish have fleshy fins that resemble primitive limbs and are considered to the ancestors of land vertebrates. Australian lungfish have very long live span - 'Granddad’ in Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, passed away in 2017, at what was estimated to be over 100 years old!
Fish out of water
From its source in Booroobin, the Mary River flows north and empties into the Great Sandy Strait. This sand passage estuary is replicated in the exhibit’s mangrove area. Here, you’d see the archerfish, which catches insects from overhanging branches by shooting a jet of water from its mouth or even leaping out of the water to snatch them with its jaws. You’ll also meet the mudskipper, which can stay out of water for hours by absorbing oxygen through its moist skin and extracting oxygen from gulps of water it holds in its mouth.
