Editing Trout cod (section)

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=May 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Trout cod
| image = Trout Cod (Maccullochella macquariensis).jpg
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|3.6|0|[[Pliocene]] - [[Holocene|Recent]]}}
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Koehn, J. |author2=Lintermans, M. |author3=Lieschke, J. |author4=Gilligan, D. |date=2019 |title=''Maccullochella macquariensis'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T12574A123378211 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T12574A123378211.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| taxon = Maccullochella macquariensis
| authority = ([[Georges Cuvier|G. Cuvier]], 1829)
| synonyms = * ''Grystes macquariensis'' <small>G. Cuvier, 1829</small>
* ''Grystes brisbani'' <small>Lesson, 1831</small>
* ''Oligorus mitchelii'' <small>Castelnau, 1873</small>
* ''Oligorus gibbiceps'' <small>W. J. Macleay, 1885</small>
}}

The '''trout cod''' ('''''Maccullochella macquariensis''''') or '''bluenose cod''', is a large predatory freshwater fish of the genus ''[[Maccullochella]]'' and the family [[Percichthyidae]], closely related to the [[Murray cod]]. It was originally widespread in the south-east corner of the [[Murray-Darling]] river system in [[Australia]], but is now an endangered species.<ref name=fishes />

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, when trout cod were widely recognised as a separate species by commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, riverside residents and fisheries scientists, they were generally known as bluenose cod or simply bluenose, particularly in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]].  In some parts of [[New South Wales]] however they were also known as trout cod, and this common name was adopted when the species status of the fish was finally confirmed by genetic studies in the early 1970s.  This choice of official common name was perhaps unfortunate; it has been suggested that bluenose cod is a more appropriate name as the name trout cod causes confusion amongst the Australian public.  (Trout cod are an Australian native freshwater fish; they '''are not''' a hybrid between Murray cod and introduced trout species.)

[[File:Percichthyidae - Maccullochella macquariensis.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Fossil of ''Maccullochella macquariensis'', Lower Pliocene, Australia]] Trout cod are a listed species on a number of different registers including Endangered under the New South Wales Fisheries Management Act 1994, the Australian Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the Australian Capital Territory's Nature Conservation Act 1980 and by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). They are also listed as Threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1998.

Fossils of genus ''Maccullochella'' can be found from [[Miocene]] epoch (from about 23.03 to 5.332 million years ago) to recent age, while the species ''Maccullochella macquariensis'' is present from Lower [[Pliocene]] (3.6–5.3 mya) to recent age.