Fundulus

Fundulus
Northern studfish (F. catenatus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Suborder: Cyprinodontoidei
Superfamily: Funduloidea
Family: Fundulidae
Genus: Fundulus
Lacépède, 1803
Species

See text

Fundulus is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the superfamily Funduloidea, family Fundulidae (of which it is the type genus). 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).

They are usually smallish; most species reaching a length of at most 4 in (10 cm) when fully grown. However, a few larger species exist, with the giant killifish (F. grandissimus) and the northern studfish (F. catenatus) growing to twice the genus' average size.

Many of the 40-odd species are commonly known by the highly ambiguous name "killifish" (the general term for egg-laying toothcarps), or the somewhat less ambiguous "topminnow" (a catch-all term for Fundulidae). "Studfish" is a quite unequivocal vernacular name applied to some other Fundulus species; it is not usually used to refer to the genus as a whole, however.

Species

Russetfin Topminnow (F. escambiae)

There are currently 39 recognized species in this genus:[1]

Formerly placed in Fundulus were the closely related diamond killifish (Adinia xenica) and the somewhat more distantly related Cuban killifish (Cubanichthys cubensis, a pupfish).

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fundulus.
  1. ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). Species of Fundulus in FishBase. August 2012 version.
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