ANGFA Life Member
Dave Wilson
Dave Wilson is a Northern Territory-based field naturalist, breeder and, with his wife Robyn, proprietor of Aquagreen, an aquaculture business supplying native rainbowfishes and aquatic plants to hobbyists across Australia and overseas. He is one of ANGFA's most prolific field contributors, with articles stretching from a 1990 Qld Newsletter collecting report to a 2023 Fishes of Sahul feature, and has served as ANGFA National President.
A self-described "puddle pirate", Dave's field and conservation work extends well beyond the hobby: he has worked closely with traditional owners in the remote Northern Territory documenting fishes and other aquatic animals, assisted goby specialist Dr Helen Larson's scientific collecting, and was awarded a Pride of Australia medal in 2017 for that conservation work. In 2001 Larson honoured his contribution by naming a new species after him — Wilson's Mangrovegoby, Mugilogobius wilsoni.
This page draws together his contributions found so far across Fishes of Sahul, In-Stream and the Qld Newsletter — publications digitised to date — plus further articles awaiting indexing in ANGFA News and ANGFA Vic News.
Personal background
Introducing the species named in his honour, fellow authors Michael Hammer and Christopher Scharpf wrote of Dave: "A self-confessed 'puddle pirate' Dave provided great support to Helen [Larson] and science collecting, documenting unusual animals including gobies in the Darwin region. Dave is also well-known and highly regarded in ANGFA circles as he is a massive supporter and contributor to the club to the extent that he was granted the honour of life membership. He has worked tirelessly and generously to promote the sustainable use and conservation of native aquatic animals and plants including working closely with traditional owners in the remote Northern Territory."
Dave and Robyn's Aquagreen has also played a quiet conservation role of its own: in 2019 it hosted the quarantine of a juvenile Freshwater Sawfish — a Critically Endangered species — before its release to Territory Wildlife Park, and Dave's own account of handling adult sawfish notes just how quickly things can go wrong: "the reaction time of one young, fit diver was approximately 0.18 seconds… there were two neat rows of holes on the diver's hand (Dave Wilson in the 1990s)."
Found by searching the full text of every digitised ANGFA publication for mentions of Dave, not just his own bylines — there may well be more still to find as later ANGFA News and ANGFA Vic News issues are fully indexed.
Contributions found so far
- 26 authored/co-authored articles located across Fishes of Sahul, In-Stream and the Qld Newsletter 16 in Fishes of Sahul (1992–2023) · 6 in the Qld Newsletter · 4 in In-Stream
- 10 further articles identified by byline in ANGFA News and ANGFA Vic News, awaiting full article indexing
- 27 individual photo credits found across the corpus, reflecting his frequent role as field photographer on other authors' species profiles and trip reports
- A species named in his honour: Wilson's Mangrovegoby, Mugilogobius wilsoni, described by Dr Helen Larson in 2001
Counts are drawn from an author/photo-credit search across every ANGFA publication processed so far and will grow as more issues are indexed — treat them as a running minimum, not a final tally.
Featured contributions
Fish in Focus: Wilson's Mangrovegoby Mugilogobius wilsoni
Fishes of Sahul, Vol. 32(1), March 2018 — with Michael Hammer & Christopher Scharpf
The species-profile of the goby named in Dave's own honour, with an etymology section that doubles as a short, warm tribute to his decades of field and conservation work in the Northern Territory.
Fish in Focus: Freshwater Sawfish Pristis pristis
Fishes of Sahul, Vol. 37(1), March 2023 — with Matthew Stanton
A detailed account of keeping and handling a Critically Endangered species, drawing on Dave's own decades of first-hand experience — including a close call with an adult sawfish's saw "in the 1990s".
Heli-Fishing the Upper Katherine River
Fishes of Sahul, Vol. 23(3), 2010 — with Leo O'Reilly, Bruce Hansen & Gary Moores
One of the corpus's best-loved trip reports (see also Bruce Hansen's page), with Dave among the four-person party who chartered a helicopter to reach a remote stretch of the Katherine River.
Complete list of contributions found so far
Sorted by publication, then chronologically. Co-authored pieces are included. This list will be extended as more publications are indexed.
Fishes of Sahul (16)
- Summary – fish distribution surveyVol. 7(2) — Hansen, B., Wilson, D. and Dawson, A.
- Ondinia purpurea den Hartog (Nymphaeaceae) a personal journeyVol. 15(1) — Chuah, E., Smith, L. and Wilson, D.
- A visit with the Djelk rangers of central Arnhem LandVol. 16(1) — Wilson, D.
- The late dry season fish of Arrinyaki CreekVol. 18(2) — Wilson, D.
- Bedjal – the famous red rainbowfish from Arnhem LandVol. 20(3) — Wilson, D.
- Heli-fishing the upper Katherine RiverVol. 23(3) — O’Reilly, L., Hansen, B., Moores, G. and Wilson, D.
- Chameleon shrimp - Caridina sp. WA-4, collection and captive husbandry in the aquariumVol. 27(3) — Yuen, D., Beard, B. and Wilson, D.
- Fish in focus: Blackmast Craterocephalus stramineus (Atherinidae)Vol. 30(2) — Tappin, A., Briggs, G., Wilson, D. & Scharpf, C.
- Fish in focus: Hyrtl’s Catfish Neosilurus hyrtlii (Plotosidae)Vol. 31(1) — Unmack, P.J., Sambell, B., Wilson, D., Lach, M. & Scharpf, C.
- Fish in focus: Wilson’s Mangrovegoby Mugilogobius wilsoni (Gobiidae)Vol. 32(1) — Wilson, D., Hammer, M. & Scharpf, C.
- Fish in foscus: Seven-spot Archerfish Toxotes chatareus (Toxotidae)Vol. 32(2) — Briggs, G., Sambell, B., Wilson, D., Martin, K. & Hansen, B. & Scharpf, C.
- Aquarium fish food for omnivorous fishes and invertebrates – home madeVol. 34(1) — Wilson, D.
- Fish in focus: Blueback Blue-eye Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis (Pseudomugilidae)Vol. 34(1) — Gauci, P, Lange, G., Wilson, D., Briggs, G., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C.
- Fish in foscus: Craterocephalus “stercusmuscarum” group species (Atherinidae)Vol. 34(2) — Moy, K.G., Wilson, D., Briggs, G., Hansen, B., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C.
- Fish in Focus: Beachrock Mangrovegoby Mugilogobius littorals (Gobiidae)Vol. 35(1) — Wilson, D. & Scharpf, C.
- Fish in Focus: Freshwater Sawfish Pristis pristis (Pristidae)Vol. 37(1) — Wilson, D. & Stanton, M.
In-Stream (4)
- Setting up a biotype tank.Vol. 9(2), Apr 2000 — Dave Wilson
- An unusual parasite.Vol. 9(4), Aug 2000 — Dave Wilson
- Pogostemon stellatus (Keng, 1978).Vol. 10(3), Jun 2001 — Dave Wilson
- Heli Fishing the upper Katherine River.Vol. 19(3), Mar 2010 — Leo O’Reilly, Bruce Hansen, Gary Moores & Dave Wilson.
Qld Newsletter (6)
- Field Trip - Personal - Collecting in Scot's Creek, Northern TerritoryVol. 6(4), Aug 1990 — Dave Wilson
- That's a Good Idea - Drip FeederVol. 6(5), Oct 1990 — Dave Wilson
- That's a Good Idea - Carbon Dioxide GeneratorVol. 12(2), Mar 1996 — Dave Wilson
- Article - Custom Lighting from the SupermarketVol. 13(1), Jan 1997 — Dave Wilson
- ANGFA's A-Z Notebook - Native Aquatic Plants - P for Pogostemon - Pogostemon stellatus stellatus (Star Rotala, Eusteralis, Dysophylla)Vol. 14(6), Nov 1998 — Dave Wilson
- ANGFA's A-Z Notebook - Native Freshwater Fish - P for Pristis - Pristis microdon (Freshwater Sawfish)Vol. 15(1), Jan 1999 — Dave Wilson