Striped killifish
Encyclopedia
The striped killifish also called the striped mummichog, is a North American species of saltwater killifish (occasionally also found in brackish water), dwelling in shallow coastal waters close to shore, and is found from New Hampshire
to Florida
.
It exhibits sexual dimorphism
, with the males having vertical black stripes and the mature females having horizontal black stripes along the sides of their silver-colored bodies. Juvenile females have vertical stripes, however, and one or two vertical stripes remain at the end of the tail even on adult females. The striped killifish reaches lengths of 6 (or occasionally 7) inches.
Monthly had a news article on research being done by Professor S. O. Mast of the zoological department of Johns Hopkins
. The professor was studying the fundulus majolisis and noted their ability to survive the draining of ocean tide pools. These fish would swim and out of the tide pools on regular intervals, somehow knowing when to swim out before the tidewaters drained from the pools. If for some reason the outlet of the pool were to close off as the tide went out, the fish would quickly swim around the tide pool randomly looking for an alternate escape route.
If the fish cannot find an exit, they actually leave the water and flop over land to reach the ocean. Professor Mast saw scores and scores of these fish leave large tide pools and travel across sand bars up to 12 feet wide and six inches tall. The fish nearly always leave the pool on the side towards the ocean, and are able to travel straight towards the ocean rather than flopping around randomly. At the time it was not known how the fish are able to find the ocean so readily.
After about three minutes of becoming trapped in a rapidly disappearing tide pool, a dense aggregation of fish form on the side of the pool towards the ocean, and swim up and down the side of the pool. Then in groups of about twelve the fish leave the pool and head across land towards the sea.
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New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
It exhibits sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
, with the males having vertical black stripes and the mature females having horizontal black stripes along the sides of their silver-colored bodies. Juvenile females have vertical stripes, however, and one or two vertical stripes remain at the end of the tail even on adult females. The striped killifish reaches lengths of 6 (or occasionally 7) inches.
Tidepool survival techniques
In Feb 1916, Popular SciencePopular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
Monthly had a news article on research being done by Professor S. O. Mast of the zoological department of Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
. The professor was studying the fundulus majolisis and noted their ability to survive the draining of ocean tide pools. These fish would swim and out of the tide pools on regular intervals, somehow knowing when to swim out before the tidewaters drained from the pools. If for some reason the outlet of the pool were to close off as the tide went out, the fish would quickly swim around the tide pool randomly looking for an alternate escape route.
If the fish cannot find an exit, they actually leave the water and flop over land to reach the ocean. Professor Mast saw scores and scores of these fish leave large tide pools and travel across sand bars up to 12 feet wide and six inches tall. The fish nearly always leave the pool on the side towards the ocean, and are able to travel straight towards the ocean rather than flopping around randomly. At the time it was not known how the fish are able to find the ocean so readily.
After about three minutes of becoming trapped in a rapidly disappearing tide pool, a dense aggregation of fish form on the side of the pool towards the ocean, and swim up and down the side of the pool. Then in groups of about twelve the fish leave the pool and head across land towards the sea.
big long buttcheaks