Banded killifish - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The banded killifish is a North American species of temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

freshwater killifish

Killifish

A killifish is any of various oviparous cyprinodontiform fish . Altogether, there are some 1270 different species of killifish, the biggest family being Rivulidae, containing more than 320 species...

belonging to the Fundulus

Fundulus

Fundulus is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the superfamily Funduloidea, family Fundulidae . They belong to the order of toothcarps , and therein the large suborder Cyprinodontoidei...

genus of the Fundulidae

Fundulidae

Fundulidae is the family of topminnows and North American killifishes. 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....

family. The natural geographic range extends from Newfoundland to South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, and west to Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. It occupies the Great Lakes drainages. The Banded killifish is the only freshwater killifish found in the Northeastern United States, but can occasionally be found in brackish water.

Etymology of the name

The common name, "banded killifish", is commonly referring to the distinct black and white vertical bandings found along their sides. In addition to the name Fundulus

Fundulus

Fundulus is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the superfamily Funduloidea, family Fundulidae . They belong to the order of toothcarps , and therein the large suborder Cyprinodontoidei...

, it is derived from the word Fundus

Fundus

Fundus is an anatomical term referring to the portion of an organ opposite from its opening. Examples include:* Fundus * Fundus of gallbladder* Fundus * Fundus...

, which means "bottom" and the word diaphanus means "transparent" in Greek.

Physical description

Fundulus diaphanus, the Banded Killifish, is described to have an olive color on the dorsal and white coloring under the ventral. Their throat and fins are yellowish in color. In addition, there are 13-15 rays on a killifish's dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

and 10-12 rays on the anal fin. Furthermore, the homocercal tail of a Banded Killifish is slightly convex or rounded. It also have a small pelvic fin along the abdominal. The body is slender and elongated with somewhat of a flat side and flattened head and small terminal mouth position for surface feeding. Banded Killifish also have a row of small sharp teeth lining their upper and lower jaw. It does not have a lateral line along the side but it do have 39 to 43 cycloid scales in the lateral series. The average size of a Banded Killifish range from 10–13 cm in length and weighs a few grams. Additionally, there are multiple vertical black and silver/white stripes along both sides of the Banded Killifish; similar to its cousin species the Western Banded Killifish Fundulus diaphanus menona. The numbers of bandings on the dorsal fin of a Banded Killifish are useful in determining the sex of this species. The females tend to grow larger in size than the male. They also have larger bandings on the sides and appear black in color. In contrast, the males have pale gray bandings that are close together.

Range and distribution

The Banded Killifish are widely distributed throughout Eastern North America, ranging from South Carolina

South Carolina

to as far north as the Atlantic Provinces. They are also found in the eastern part of Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

to Minnesota

Minnesota

and throughout the suitable habitats of the Great Lakes watershed of southern Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

to Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

. Due to biogeographically isolation and limitation of potential for range expansion, banded killifish species were assigned a status of Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada ; French: Le Comité sur la situation des espèces en péril au Canada, is an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists whose "raison d’être is to identify species at risk" in Canada...

(COSEWIC).

Habitat

The adults range from 2–3 years in age. Banded Killifish are schooling fish, usually traveling in groups of 3-6 individuals while the juveniles travel in groups of 8-12 due to their smaller physical size. They are most often found in the shallow and quiet area of clear lakes, ponds, rivers, and estuaries with sandy gravel or muddy bottoms with lots of aquatic vegetation. The sand and gravel provides hatchling and juveniles with places to hide when threatened by predatory fish such as the Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Northern Pike Esox lucius, and Trout. Due to the physical size of the Banded Killifish, it does not travel into the deep end of a body of water where it is vulnerable to predation as well as the inability to swim fast currents. However, adult Banded Killifish have been observed to travel into deep bodies of water for feeding purposes. Banded Killifish often congregate near aquatic vegetations as it provides protection to them as well as a safe breeding habitat.

Diet habits

Banded Killifish have been observed to feed on all levels of the water column. The adults feed on a variety of items such as insects, nymphs, mollusks, turbellarians, and other small crustaceans. In contrast, the smaller individuals are limited to fewer items such as chironomid larvae, cladocerans, copepods, and midge larvae. Both young and adult Banded Killifish have been observed to feed mostly in the afternoon.

Reproduction and life cycle

In most fish species, the females tend to be larger than males. Similarly, female Banded Killifish tend to be larger when compare to the male. The average adult size ranges from 10–13 cm long and weight a few grams. Banded Killifish are commonly observed to spawn in dense aquatic vegetation because they practice external fertilization where the female lays her eggs equipped with adhesive threads that adhere to plants. They are also observed to spawn from June to mid-August in shallow waters. During the spawning season, the males go through a color change phase. They develop a bright blue patch near the anal fin. In addition, the lower portion of the body changes to a bright blue color. Spawning occurs at water temperatures of 21˚ C to 23˚ C. The male chooses a site in the shallow part of the water and protects it from other males. When a female appears, the male will court the female and fight with the other prospecting males. The female will emit one egg while the male pursues her. Once together, the female emits 10 eggs that falls onto the bottom or gets attached to aquatic plants in the chosen spawn area. The male will continue to pursue the female until the female have laid 50 to 100 eggs. A single female may lay several clutches of eggs during one summer. After the eggs have been fertilized, both the parents will leave and go their separate ways; the eggs do not receive parental care. 6-7 millimeter fries emerge within 10 to 12 days depending on the temperature of the water. They reach maturity at approximately 1 year with an average length of 6 cm. Banded Killifish can live for a little over 2 years. However, there have been some that have been observed to live up to 3 years.

Trivia

Banded Killifish are euryhaline but they usually inhabit freshwater streams and lakes. The largest adult recorded was 12.8 cm and it was observed in Indian Bay, Canada. People have used Banded Killifish as fish bait. Most people do not favor them as pets because they take more care than the average person can provide. Therefore they do not survive well in an aquarium setting. They are important to aquatic ecosystems because they are a food source for larger fishes such as Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Northern Pike Esox lucius, and trout. They are also a food source for birds such as Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon, Mergansers Mergus merganser, and herons.

In January 2005, the Banded Killifish have been listed as a Vulnerable Species under the Newfoundland Labrador Endangered Species Act and the Canada Species at Risk Act

Species at Risk Act

The Species at Risk Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation which became law in Canada on December 12, 2002. It is designed to meet one of Canada's key commitments under the International Convention on Biological Diversity. The goal of the Act is to protect endangered or threatened...

(SARA). This species is facing habitat degradation due to industrial development, motorized watercraft activities, and removal of aquatic vegetations.

External links

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