Milyeringa justitia

Milyeringa justitia, commonly known as the Barrow cave gudgeon, is a species of fish in the family Milyeringidae endemic to groundwater systems (aquifers) of Barrow Island, around 50 km off the Pilbara coast in Western Australia.^[4] This troglobitic species has a pale body, lacking in pigment, and it is eyeless and blind, using sensory papillae located on the head and body to allow it to feed and move around in total darkness.^[5] The specific name justitia is Latin for "justice" and was given by the describers to complement the specific name of Milyeringa veritas which means "truth" in the hope that “As truth and justice are supposed to go together, we name this species justitia, from the Latin for justice, in the hope that justice helps the species to survive on Barrow Island, which has been an oilfield since 1967 and is most recently the site of the Gorgon Gas Hub development.” ^[6] Very little is known about M. justitia as between 2002 and 2013 only six specimens were collected but its biology is assumed to be similar to that of M. veritas.^[2]

Milyeringa justitia
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Vulnerable  (EPBC Act)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gobiiformes
Family:	Milyeringidae
Genus:	Milyeringa
Species:	M. justitia
Binomial name
Milyeringa justitia Larson & Foster, 2013[3]

References

1. Miller, G. (2019). "Milyeringa justitia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T128969918A128970120. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T128969918A128970120.en. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
2. "Blind gudgeons". Terrestrial Ecosystems. 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Milyeringa justitia". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
4. Larson, H.K.; Foster, R.; Humphreys, W.F. & Stevens, M.I. (2013). "A new species of the blind cave gudgeon Milyeringa (Pisces: Gobioidei, Eleotridae) from Barrow Island, Western Australia, with a redescription of M. veritas Whitley". Zootaxa. 3616 (2): 135–150. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3616.2.3. hdl:2440/80787. PMID 24758799.
5. Dianne J. Bray. "Milyeringa justitia". Fishes of Australia. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (26 July 2017). "Order GOBIIFORMES: Families RHYACICHTHYIDAE, ODONTOBUTIDAE, MILYERINGIDAE, ELEOTRIDAE, BUTIDAE and THALASSELEOTRIDIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 21 July 2018.