Fundulidae

Fundulidae is the family of topminnows and North American killifishes.[2]

Fundulidae
Mummichog
Fundulus heteroclitus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Fundulidae
Günther, 1866[1]
Genera

see text

Distribution

The 46 species are native to North America as far south as Yucatan, and to the islands of Bermuda and Cuba, occurring in both freshwater and marine environments.

Description

Most members of the family are small. While the giant killifish (Fundulus grandissimus) and northern studfish (Fundulus catenatus) can reach 20 cm (7.9 in) in length, most species are under 10 cm in length.

The distinguishing characteristic of the family is the maxillary bone, which is twisted instead of being straight.[3]

While many species of the Fundulidae are listed as not threatened, there are some that are listed as endangered because of their environment. Many common species of the Fundulidae live in North America such as the United States and Mexico. They live in different ecosystem such as costal marshes, lagoons, rivers, streams with high elevations with clear water, and muddy conditions at lower elevation. They are able to adapt to different conditions which is increasing their survival rate.[4][5]

Genera

There are three genera in the family Fundulidae:[2]

References
  1. Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
  2. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2019). "Fundulidae" in FishBase. April 2019 version.
  3. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. p. 374. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
  4. Lozano-Vilano, M. L.; De La Maza-Benignos, M. (January 2017). "Diversity and status of Mexican killifishes: Mexican killifishes". Journal of Fish Biology. 90 (1): 3–38. doi:10.1111/jfb.13186. PMID 27785814.
  5. Ruiz-Campos, Gorgonio (2000-09-01). "Threatened Fishes of the World: Fundulus lima Vaillant, 1894 (Fundulidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 59 (1): 20. doi:10.1023/A:1007617406694. ISSN 1573-5133. S2CID 2943262.


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