Natural history Salamanderfish survive desiccation of their habitat by burrowing into bottom sand where they are moistened by ground water. They reemmerge immediately following summer rain and burrow back into sand as temporary pools evaporate. The wedge-shaped skull of Lepidogalaxias is robust and resists the weight of damp sand when buried. This facilitates wiggling through damp sand. Many fish live two years, but some females survive five years.
Females reach greater size than males.
The males' anal fin is sexually dimorphic at 25 mm. Males join to females by a sticky mucus produced by a scaly sheath of the anal fin. By October juveniles are large enough to be collected with a seine. Because of limited habitat any environmental destruction or pollution could affect populations of Lepidogalaxias. A conservation measure that would probably ensure survival of the species well into next century would be incorporation of the unique acid-flats environment around Northcliffe into a protected state or national sanctuary and elimination of forest destruction.