The rediscovery of presumed extirpated populations provides a second chance opportunity for species and habitat conservation. This study details the redetection of a westerly outlying population of a secretive wetland fish, the Australian Mudfish Neochanna cleaveri, as a positive note in the face of major environmental change. It also documents the basic ecology of the population to inform natural resource management and better understand the needs of similar habitat specialists. Nuclear genetic markers (allozymes) revealed the rediscovered population to be closely related to those in other parts of the range. Targeted sampling in the south east of South Australia indicated a robust population, occupying vegetated ephemeral wetlands and drains across two fragmented and contrasting systems. Movement sampling failed to detect migrating juveniles, which was supported by otolith trace elemental chemistry, that implied a wholly freshwater or at least non-marine lifecycle. Together these data indicate specific conservation management is warranted for a regionally disjunct and independent population and emphasises the importance of both remnant ephemeral wetlands and some artificial habitats for maintaining freshwater biodiversity across heavily altered landscapes.

重新发现已灭绝的种群为物种和栖息地保护提供了第二次机会。这项研究详细描述了一种秘密的湿地鱼类澳大利亚泥鱼Neochanna cleaveri的西部偏远种群的重新发现，以应对重大环境变化。它还记录了人口的基本生态，以指导自然资源管理并更好地了解类似栖息地专家的需求。核遗传标记（同工酶）显示重新发现的种群与该范围其他部分的种群密切相关。在南澳大利亚州东南部进行的有针对性的采样表明，该地区人口众多，居住在植被繁茂的临时湿地和流域，流域横跨两个分散且形成对比的系统。运动采样未能检测到迁移的少年，这是由耳石微量元素化学支持的，这暗示着整个淡水或至少是非海洋生命周期。