Elected representatives in government are in charge of the policy and funding that can make or break saving threatened species. Their decisions and actions matter.

Melbourne has or used to have 18 threatened animals within its boundaries. One of them is me, the Australian Grayling.

We took care to attach appropriate images that are as close to representative of each species as our resources and the availability of images allowed. However, we could not ensure perfect accuracy in every case. Some images show species that share the same genus but not at the species or subspecies level.

Australian Grayling

Prototroctes maraena

Status: Vulnerable

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) lists threatened species under six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation dependent. Read more about these categories

Prototroctes maraena is found across 63 electorates.

The Australian Grayling is a slender fish varying in colour from silvery with an olive-grey back and whitish belly, to olive green or brownish in the back with a darker mid-lateral streak and greyish fins. The species has large eyes, which are usually bright yellow, a rounded snout and a small head.The Australian Grayling generally grows between 17–19 cm, but can reach 30–33 cm. The lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw. It has a fleshy, fatty fin located between the dorsal and tail fins. The mouth reaches to below the eye. There are no scales on the head, nor is there a lateral line. This species has a strong cucumber smell when caught and first taken from the water.¹

Explore more about this species on the Atlas of Living Australia

Changed surface and groundwater regimes