In 1974, P. signifer was imported in large quantities
for the first time. It is not known what biotopes the fish
came from, but it must have been somewhere on the
southeastern coast of Australia, because they did not
have elongated fin tips.Blue-eyes from New Guinea
More recently, the island of New Guinea, still relatively
unexplored, has become a dream destination for scien-
tists in search of new species. Near the mouth of the Fly
River, American ichthyologist Tyson Roberts discovered
a swarm-forming fish that was even less colorful than
P. paludicola. He described this species as Pseudomugil
inconspicuus in 1978, and calling it the Inconspicuous
Blue-Eye did not make the fish any more desirable. Allen
reports that this species is a sea-dweller. I suspect that it
occurs in coastal areas with a high salt content. The spe-
cies’ sensitivity to collection and transport also hinders
its spread.
Yet another discovery was made in 1978—this one by
Parkinson and Allen in Popondetta, Papua New Guinea.
Specimens of this species were brought to Australia, and
members of the Australia New Guinea Fishes Association
(ANGFA) bred them. They were also brought to Europe
in egg form. Since then they have become common
among enthusiasts, but they have to be maintained with
regular breeding. They were described in 1981; originally
the species was assigned to the newly created genus
Popondetta, but today it is valid as Pseudomugil connieae—a
name that honors Allen’s wife, Connie. It is known both
as Connie’s Blue-Eye and the Popondetta Blue-Eye.In 1979, American ichthyologist Bruce Collette
visited the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea and discov-
ered a fish similar to P. signifer north of the capital, Port
Moresby. Five years later, Ivantsoff and Allen described
the species as Pseudomugil majusculus. In June 1993, Ernst
Frey found several specimens on the island of Tajula. I
cannot say for sure whether this fish, the Cape Blue-Eye,
has ever been in an aquarist’s hands, but it is unlikely.More discoveries
The Honey Blue-Eye was considered a variant of P.
signifer for a long time. It was not until March 12,
1981, when Allen and Midgley collected specimens near
Noosa in Queensland and studied them, that it became
apparent it was an independent species, which they
described as Pseudomugil mellis in 1982. This species
occurs only in a small area on the east coast of Austra-
lia. Unfortunately, the population is threatened with
extinction because of construction near its biotopes.
The species is also endangered in the hobby, and efforts
to preserve it are urgently needed.
In 1981, near her home town of Darwin, Australia,
Helen Larson, former curator of fishes at the Museum
and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, discovered a
flashy, blue-backed fish that was only 1 inch (2.5 cm)
long in water with high salt content. It occurred in large
swarms in its biotopes. About a year later, Gerald Allen
and Neil Sarti also found this species much further
south, near Broome in the Cab Creek. The collected ani-
mals were the basis for the 1983 description of Pseudo-
mugil cyanodorsalis, the beautiful Neon Blue-Eye.AMAZONAS
TOP RIGHT: F. SCHEIFINGER; TOP LEFT: N. KHARDINA; BOTTOM: H. H. BOECKThe tiny Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis (male shown)
is known only from a single location in Australia.Pseudomugil novaeguineae, the New
Guinea Blue-Eye, is rare in the trade.Pseudomugil tenellus, known as the
Delicate Blue-Eye, is a fish for experts.