Flagfish

Last updated

Flagfish
Jordanella floridae.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Cyprinodontidae
Genus: Jordanella
Goode & T. H. Bean, 1879
Species:
J. floridae
Binomial name
Jordanella floridae
Goode & T. H. Bean, 1879
Synonyms [2]

Cyprinodon floridae(Goode & T.H. Bean, 1879)

The flagfish (Jordanella floridae), also known as the American flagfish or Florida flagfish, is a species of pupfish, a type of killifish from the family Cyprinodontidae which is endemic to Florida. [1] It is found in the aquarium trade. Its common name derives from the dominant males' body pattern, which bears some resemblance to the Flag of the United States.

Contents

Description

A Male in an aquarium.

Flagfish are small, robust fish, 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length, with a truncated snout which has been compared to that of a bulldog. They have rounded fins with the dorsal and anal fins positioned posteriorly and adjoining the caudal fin. Females have an obvious spot on their flanks and a clear spot near the posterior end of the dorsal fin, this has an opaque white margin. The fins may show a slight reddish color but this comes and goes in any individual but the reason for this is unknown. The females body is mainly olive but marked with turquoise scales. The common name of the flagfish is derived from the male due to the resemblance of its patterning to the flag of the United States. There is a dark rectangle on the shoulder which is imagined as the blue and white stars in the corner of the US flag and there are stripes along the flanks, some of which are red and others paler, albeit greenish rather than white. The male also has a dark spot positioned at the lower posterior corner of the dark rectangle. The olive-grey coloration and pattern of nondominant males, females, and juveniles underlies the more colorful pattern of the dominant males. [3]

Distribution

The flagfish is endemic to Florida where it is found in the Florida Peninsula south of the drainage basins of the St. Johns River and Ochlockonee River. [2]

Habitat and biology

The flagfish normally occurs in shallow, well vegetated freshwater habitats such as backwaters, marshes, canals and ditches but it has occasionally been recorded in slightly brackish water. [4] The flagfish is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the species of fish which lays the fewest eggs, a female will lay 20 eggs over a period of a few days. [2] They have a courtship display in which the female encourages the male to chase her by nipping him. After that they face each other with the female swimming backwards, the male then backflips. After the eggs are laid the male guards them, attacking fish which stray too close. However, the male may also eat his own eggs or offspring. [3] Other sources say that this species shows no parental care. [4]

This species is omnivorous, it is a micropredator feeding on small invertebrates and zooplankton but it will also feed on algae and other plant material. [4]

They are often used to naturally control hair algae in suitable aquariums, as they are one of the only fish to consume it in an impactful volume. [5]

Taxonomy and name

The flagfish was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1879 with the type locality given as Lake Monroe, Florida. [6] The generic name honours the American ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1851–1931). [7] It is closely related to the Yucatan flagfish Garmanella pulchra which is sometimes also placed in the genus Jordanella. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sailfin molly</span> Species of fish

The sailfin molly is a livebearer fish typically found in both freshwater and brackish waterways along the East Coast of the United States, from North Carolina south to Florida, and around the Gulf of Mexico to Texas, and south to the Yucatán Peninsula of México. Given their preference for more brackish water conditions, mollies are often found within just a few yards or miles of the ocean, inhabiting coastal estuaries, lagoons, river deltas and swamps, as well as tidal areas with a regular inflow of oceanic minerals and nutrients mixing with inland freshwater sources.

<i>Zebrasoma desjardinii</i> Species of fish

Zebrasoma desjardinii, the Red Sea sailfin tang, Desjardin's sailfin tang, Indian sailfin tang or Indian sailfin surgeonfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. This fish is found in the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese angelfish</span> Species of fish

The Japanese angelfish or Japanese pygmy angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threadfin acara</span> Species of fish

The threadfin acara, also known as Heckel's thread-finned acara, is a South American species of cichlid fish. It is the only member of the genus Acarichthys and is native to rivers in the Amazon and Essequibo basins in tropical South America, and has become established in southeastern Asia. It is sometimes found in the aquarium trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluering angelfish</span> Species of fish

The bluering angelfish, also known as the annularis angelfish and the blue king angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is member of the genus Pomacanthus, composed of large marine angelfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock beauty</span> Species of fish

The rock beauty, also known as corn sugar, coshubba, rock beasty, catalineta, and yellow nanny, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Nimbochromis livingstonii</i> Species of fish

Nimbochromis livingstonii, Livingston's cichlid or (locally) kalingono, is a freshwater mouthbrooding cichlid native to Lake Malawi, an African Rift Lake. It is also found in the upper Shire River and Lake Malombe. They are found in inshore areas of the lake over sandy substrates.

Algae eater or algivore is a common name for any bottom-dwelling or filter-feeding aquatic animal species that specialize in feeding on algae and phytoplanktons. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping hobby and many are commonly kept by aquarium hobbyists to improve water quality. They are also important primary consumers that relay the biomass and energy from photosynthetic autotrophes up into the food web, as well as protecting the aquatic ecosystem against algae blooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf eel</span> Species of fish

The wolf eel is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolf fishes. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean. Despite its common name and resemblance, it is not a true eel. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Anarrhichthys.

Esmaeilius vladykovi is a species of killifish in the family Aphaniidae endemic to a restricted area of the central Zagros Mountains of Iran. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. Its specific name honours the zoologist Vadim D. Vladykov (1898-1986) who studied the fishes of the Caspian basin and the person who accepted the species author, Brian W. Coad, as a graduate student.

<i>Nannostomus trifasciatus</i> Species of fish

Nannostomus trifasciatus,, commonly known as the three-lined or three-stripe pencilfish, is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the characin family Lebiasinidae. They are popular in the aquarium trade due to their small size, beautiful color pattern, and relative hardiness.

<i>Zebrasoma scopas</i> Species of fish

Zebrasoma scopas, the brown tang, twotone tang, scopas tang or brush-tail tang, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae which includes the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs. The brown tang is found throughout Oceania and is a herbivorous fish, feeding predominantly on filamentous algae. It is a highly popular fish in the aquarium trade.

<i>Melanotaenia duboulayi</i> Species of fish

Melanotaenia duboulayi, the crimson-spotted rainbowfish, less commonly known as the Duboulay's rainbowfish, is a species of freshwater fish endemic to coastal eastern Australia, although M. duboulayi has also been kept as an aquarium fish since the early 20th century, and is the original "Australian rainbowfish".

<i>Chaetodon guentheri</i> Species of fish

Chaetodon guentheri, Günther's butterflyfish or the crochet butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to The western Pacific Ocean.

The Yucatan flagfish, also known as the snakeskin killifish, is a species of pupfish from the family Cyprinodontidae. It is found in the coastal waters of the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico and Belize. This species grows to a length of 4 centimetres (1.6 in) TL and is found in the aquarium trade. This species was described by Carl Leavitt Hubbs in 1936 with the type locality given as 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Progreso, Yucatán, Mexico. It is the only known member of its genus. The name of the genus commemorates the American ichthyologist Samuel Garman (1843-1927) who was working on a revision of his 1895 monograph on the Cyprinodontidae at the time of his death. It is sometimes treated as a junior synonym of Jordanella.

<i>Centropyge vrolikii</i> Species of fish

Centropyge vrolikii, known commonly as the pearlscale angelfish or half black angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific.

<i>Abudefduf troschelii</i> Species of fish

Abudefduf troschelii, the Pacific sergeant major or Panama sergeant major, is a species of damselfish belonging to the family Pomacentridae that can be identified by the pronounced black stripes on the lateral sides of the fish. Its specific name honors the zoologist Franz Hermann Troschel (1810-1882). It is native to the neritic pelagic zone of the shallow water coral reefs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and they are an omnivorous species feeding on plankton and algae attached to their coral habitat. Abudefduf troschelii is a sister-species of A. saxatilis but have diverged from each other since the uplift of the isthmus of Panama, separated by the rise of the Panama land bridge 3.1 to 3.5 million years ago. Males, like in many other marine species, take care of and defend newborn A. troschelii after they have been hatched by eggs from the female. There are currently no major threats to the species and there is no indication of a current decline in its population size. The IUCN Red List lists this damselfish as being of “least concern”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackear wrasse</span> Species of fish

The blackear wrasse is a species of wrasse, a type of fish in the family Labridae, from the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Hemichromis letourneuxi</i> Species of fish

Hemichromis letourneuxi is a species of cichlid which is native to West Africa and is popular in the aquarium hobby and it has been introduced to the Caribbean and the south-east United States where it is invasive.

<i>Poropanchax normani</i> Species of fish

Poropanchax normani, also known as the Norman's lampeye, is a species of Procatopodidae which is native to Africa. It belongs to the group of African lampeyes and livebearers (Poeciliidae).

References

  1. 1 2 "Jordanella floridae". NatureServe Explorer An online encyclopedia of life. 7.1. NatureServe. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Jordanella floridae". FishBase . August 2019 version.
  3. 1 2 Mary E. Sweeney. "Secrest of the American Flagfish". Microcosm Aquarium Explorer. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Jordanella floridae GOODE & BEAN, 1879 Florida Flagfish". Seriously Fish. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. "American Flagfish - the Care, Feeding and Breeding of American Flagfish". January 6, 2015.
  6. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Jordanella floridae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  7. Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (April 26, 2019). "Order CYPRINODONTIFORMES: Families PANTANODONTIDAE, CYPRINODONTIDAE, PROFUNDULIDAE, GOODEIDAE, FUNDULIDAE and FLUVIPHYLACIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved October 19, 2019.