A name that means big scales
Barramundi comes from an Aboriginal word meaning large-scaled river fish.
The billabong
Barramundi
Lates calcarifer
A big silver fish with large scales, a pointed head and a humped back.
- Size
- Usually about 1m long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Rivers, billabongs and coasts of northern Australia
Swims after you with a flick of its tail. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Barramundi
Good to know
Six things about the barramundi
Boys become girls
Almost all barramundi start life as males and turn into females when they are a few years old.
River to sea
They live in fresh water but swim down to salty river mouths to breed.
Eyes that glow
At night their eyes shine pinkish-red in torchlight.
A gulp
It opens its big mouth so fast that prey is sucked in with a loud pop.
A leaper
A hooked barramundi leaps right out of the water, shaking its head.
The real thing
Photos of the barramundi
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Stand on a bridge over a clear northern river and look for long silver shapes holding still in the shade.
How to help
Barramundi need to move between river and sea. Fish ladders round dams and weirs let them through.
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