Kurtus gulliveri

Kurtus gulliveri
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Kurtidae
Genus: Kurtus
Species:
K. gulliveri
Binomial name
Kurtus gulliveri
Castelnau, 1878

Kurtus gulliveri, the nurseryfish, is a species of fish in the family Kurtidae native to fresh and brackish waters in southern New Guinea and northern Australia. This species is famous for its unusual breeding strategy where the male carries the egg cluster on a hook protruding from the forehead (supraoccipital). Females do not have a hook. It feeds on crustaceans (especially prawn and shrimp), small fish and insect larvae. This species is well regarded as food. The specific name honours a "Mr Gulliver" who collected the type, thought most likely to refer to Thomas Allen Gulliver (1847-1931) who worked on Australia's a post and telegraph services and who lived near the Norman River, Gulf of Carpentaria where he collected natural history specimens and where the type of this species was collected.