The mummichog is a small killifish found along the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. Also known as Atlantic killifish, mummies, gudgeons, and mud minnows, these fish inhabit brackish and coastal waters including estuaries and salt marshes. The species is noted for its hardiness and ability to tolerate highly variable salinity, temperature fluctuations from 6 to 35 °C, very low oxygen levels, and heavily polluted ecosystems. As a result, the mummichog is a popular research subject in embryological, physiological, and toxicological studies. It is also the first fish ever sent to space, aboard Skylab in 1973.
A killifish is any of various oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodontiform fish. All together, there are 1,270 species of killifish, the biggest family being Rivulidae, containing more than 320 species. As an adaptation to living in ephemeral waters, the eggs of most killifish can survive periods of partial dehydration. Many of the species rely on such a diapause, since the eggs would not survive more than a few weeks if entirely submerged in water. The adults of some species, such as Kryptolebias marmoratus, can additionally survive out of the water for several weeks. Most killies are small fish, from 2.5 to 5 centimetres, with the largest species growing to just under 15 centimetres (6 in).
Fundulus is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the superfamily Funduloidea, family Fundulidae. It belongs to the order of toothcarps (Cyprinodontiformes), and therein the large suborder Cyprinodontoidei. Most of its closest living relatives are egg-laying, with the notable exception of the splitfin livebearers (Goodeidae).
The California killifish is a type of killifish (Fundulidae) found along the coast of southern California and Baja California.
The Spanish toothcarp, also known as the Spanish pupfish or Iberian killifish, is a small, endemic species of fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. Its risk of extinction is one of the greatest of any Iberian vertebrate. Its limited range, coupled with the drastic population decline the species has suffered in the last two decades, has caused it to be placed on endangered species lists, both in Spain and internationally. In addition, habitat fragmentation, likely due to humans, has resulted in this species becoming increasingly stagnant and has led to increased genetic drift. Also found to be contributing to their endangerment was genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA. The mitochondrial DNA coupled with A. iberus’s geographic distribution has been able to affect their population genetic structure gradually in different spaces. Its conservation status in the south of the Iberian peninsula has notably worsened.
The banded killifish is a North American species of temperate freshwater killifish belonging to the genus Fundulus of the family Fundulidae. Its natural geographic range extends from Newfoundland to South Carolina, and west to Minnesota, including the Great Lakes drainages. This species is the only freshwater killifish found in the northeastern United States. While it is primarily a freshwater species, it can occasionally be found in brackish water.
The Waccamaw killifish is a species of fish in the family Fundulidae. It is endemic to Lake Waccamaw, a lake in North Carolina, United States, and its tributaries.
Nothobranchius neumanni is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. It occurs in both perennial and seasonal wetlands including rivers, lakes and ponds where it most likely feeds on planktonic crustaceans. This species was described as Fundulus neumanni by Franz Hilgendorf in 1905. The specific name honours Hilgendorf's companion on some of his expeditions to Africa, the German ornithologist Oscar Neumann (1867-1946).
The saltmarsh topminnow is a species of killifish for the family Fundulidae. It occurs in the costal wetlands of the Gulf of Mexico in the United States.
The lined topminnow is a small fish in the genus Fundulus which is found in swamps and backwaters from southern Virginia to Lake Okeechobee.
Empetrichthys latos is a rare species of fish in the family Goodeidae, the splitfins. It is known by the common names Pahrump poolfish and Pahrump killifish, the former being more correct today. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it was limited to the Pahrump Valley near the California border. It nearly became extinct due to habitat destruction and no longer occurs there. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. The Pahrump Poolfish is long-lived for a small-bodied fish, with ages up to 10 years for females and 7 years for males documented.
The Gulf killifish is one of the largest members of the genus Fundulus; it is capable of growing up to 7" in length, whereas the majority of other Fundulus reach a maximum length of 4". Therefore, F. grandis is among the largest minnows preyed upon by many sport fish, such as flounder, speckled trout, and red drum. Fundulus derives from the Latin meaning "bottom," and grandis means "large". The Gulf killifish is native to the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida and the eastern coast of Florida and the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Threats to the survival of the Gulf killifish include extreme changes in salinity, changes in temperatures, and toxic events such as the hypoxic dead zone in Louisiana and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Gulf killifish is currently being used to test the effects of oil and oil dispersants on the physiology of marine species affected by these substances. This is significant to conservation biology, because with the continued extraction of oil and other natural resources from North American waters, it has become increasingly important to understand the risks and consequences in worst-case scenarios, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the lasting effects on the marine ecosystem.
Paget Marsh Nature Reserve, also known as Paget Marsh, is an unspoiled marsh, forest, and nature reserve in central Bermuda. It is located next to St. Paul's Church along Middle Road in Paget Parish, to the south of Hamilton Harbour. The 25 acres (10 ha) official reserve is protected by the Bermuda National Trust and Bermuda Audubon Society. It is also a Ramsar wetland of international importance.
The bayou killifish or bayou topminnow is a topminnow-like fish that thrives primarily in the shallow waters off the shores of the Americas, as well as fresh and brackish waters. Feeding off of small vertebrates and invertebrates, this fish displays reproduction techniques unique to its species.
Fundulus zebrinus is a species of fish in the Fundulidae known by the common name plains killifish. It is native to North America, where it is distributed throughout the Mississippi River, Colorado River, and Rio Grande drainages, and other river systems; many of its occurrences represent happy introduced populations.
The longnose killifish is a marine tropical benthopelagic fish of the genus Fundulus and the family Fundulidae. It is endemic to the western Atlantic Ocean, ranging from along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Keys to Tampico in Mexico. It can grow up to 12 centimeters in length. The body is rounded, elongate, and olive to silver colored with dark vertical stripes. It can be distinguished from other killifish by its long snout and a dark spot on last vertical bar. This species requires to be allocated a new binomial as Fundulus similis is preoccupied by a junior synonym of Fundulus majalis, the name having been given to a Gulf of Mexico population of that species.
The spotfin killifish is a member of the genus Fundulus. This hardy fish is notable for spending its entire life in sporadically flooded salt marsh habitat, sheltering in shallow pools, puddles, and small tidal rivulets. It closely resembles the mummichog in shape and coloration, but the two species can be distinguished by dorsal fin ray count: 8–9 in the spotfin versus 11–12 in the mummichog. Additionally, the dorsal fin of F. luciae originates farther back, and slightly behind the anal fin origin; in the mummichog, the dorsal fin begins anteriorly to the anal fin origin. The spotfin killifish is named for the pronounced ocellus found on the posterior dorsal fin of adult males. It is a small fish, seldom attaining 50 mm in total length. Its distribution extends along the U.S. east coast from Massachusetts to Georgia.
The Seminole killifish is a fish of the genus Fundulus, endemic to the U.S. state of Florida.
Lover's Lake killifish is a rare, threatened species of killifish endemic to the Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It was formerly described alongside its relatives as abundant throughout the islands' wetland communities, but it has declined and is now found in only a few freshwater, brackish, and saline ponds, including Bartram's Pond and Lover's Lake. It is presumably descended from the F. heteroclitus - F. grandis species complex found on the Atlantic coast of North America. It shares the island chain with the related Bermuda killifish, another killifish species also endemic to a few ponds, and was formerly synonymized with it. Other killifish populations on the islands also seem to be distinct and may also be separate species. Despite this, no pond in Bermuda has been found to contain multiple killifish species together. While most of the ponds containing the killifish's populations are protected as nature reserves, they are often located near areas of high development, leading to risk of pollution. It is also threatened by native predators such as diamondback terrapins, reintroduced yellow-crowned night herons, and other birds, as well as introduced predators such as red-eared sliders and eastern mosquitofish.
Fundulopanchax sjostedti, the blue gularis, golden pheasant gularis or red aphyosemion, is a species of toothcarp endemic to the Niger delta. It is only found in Nigeria and Cameroon. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Bror Yngve Sjöstedt (1866–1948) who collected the type specimen close to a waterfall by the Ndian River, in the Ndian department in Cameroon's Southwest Region.
