''Fundulus zebrinus'' is a species of fish in the

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

known by the common name plains killifish. It is native to North America, where it is distributed throughout the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, and

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

drainages, and other river systems; many of its occurrences represent introduced populations.

Description

This fish grows up to about , with a maximum length of .Rahel, F. J. and L. A. Thel
Plains Killifish (''Fundulus zebrinus''): A Technical Conservation Assessment.
Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project. March 18, 2004. Its lifespan is up to 3 years, but most fish do not exceed two. It has a flat head with a protruding jaw that allows it to feed at the water's surface. It is variable in color, being brown, black, greenish, or straw-colored, with paler yellowish or silvery coloration on the belly. The fish is striped with the 12 to 28 dark vertical bars that give the species its scientific name, meaning "like a zebra". The males have wider, darker bars than the females. The breeding male develops bright orange coloration on most of his fins. This species feeds on

chironomid Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid s ...

larvae,

copepods Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthic (living on the sediments), several species have ...

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

s, and other small animals. It is also

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

. It may feed by scooping up and swallowing mouthfuls of riverbed substrate to obtain buried food objects. The fish often spits out most of the sand and undigestible material, but the digestive tract usually contains an amount of sand. The fish eats

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

larvae when available, and studies suggest it might be useful in

mosquito abatement Mosquito control manages the population of mosquitoes to reduce their damage to human health, economies, and enjoyment. Control strategies range from habitat modification and chemical insecticides to biological agents and mechanical traps. Clim ...

efforts.Nelson, S. M. and L. C. Keenan. (1992)
Use of an indigenous fish species, ''Fundulus zebrinus'', in a mosquito abatement program: A field comparison with the mosquitofish, ''Gambusia affinis''.
''Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association'' 8:3 301–04. The fish lives in a number of shallow river and stream habitat types. It may occur in lower, moderate and swift, turbid water flows. It may be found in lakes. It is tolerant of brackish, alkaline, and salty water, more so than most other local fish species. It may bury itself in the substrate with only its eyes and mouth showing. The fish might perform this behavior as a stress response, and it might serve to protect it from sunlight and heat, predators, or low water levels, or to help rid itself of

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

s. The killifish may face predation by other fish, notably the

green sunfish The green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') is a species of aggressive freshwater fish in the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae) of order Centrarchiformes. The green sunfish does not always grow large enough to be an appealing target for anglers, ...

(''Lepomis cyanellus''); where this predator occurs, killifish populations drop.Lohr, S. C. and K. D. Fausch. (1996)
Effects of green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') predation on survival and habitat use of plains killifish (''Fundulus zebrinus'').
''The Southwestern Naturalist'' 41(2) 155–60. Spawning is associated with water temperature, usually occurring when the temperature exceeds . Spawning season has been noted to start in April and continue through August. A number of parasites have been observed on this species, including '' Myxosoma funduli'', a

myxozoa Myxozoa (etymology: Greek: μύξα ''myxa'' "slime" or "mucus" + thematic vowel o + ζῷον ''zoon'' "animal") is a subphylum of aquatic cnidarian animals – all obligate parasites. It contains the smallest animals ever known to have lived. ...

n, a species of ''

Trichodina Trichodina is a genus of ciliate alveolates that is ectocommensal or parasitic on aquatic animals, particularly fish. They are characterised by the presence of a ring of interlocking cytoskeletal denticles, which provide support for the cell ...

'', a

protozoa Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

n, '' Urocleidus fundulus'', a fluke, and '' Gyrodactylus bulbacanthus'', a

monogenea Monogeneans, members of the class Monogenea, are a group of ectoparasitic flatworms commonly found on the skin, gills, or fins of fish. They have a direct lifecycle and do not require an intermediate host. Adults are hermaphrodites, meaning they ...

n, all of which infest the

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

s. Also, the parasite '' Gyrodactylus stableri'' infests the fins and organisms of '' Neascus'', a genus of flukes, infest the eye and internal tissues of the fish.Janovy, J. J. and E. L. Hardin. (1987)
Population dynamics of the parasites in ''Fundulus zebrinus'' in the Platte River of Nebraska.
''J Parasit'' 73(4) 689–96. The monogenean gill parasite '' Salsuginus thalkeni'' was first described from the fish.Janovy, J. J., et al. (1989)
''Salsuginus thalkeni'' n. sp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) from ''Fundulus zebrinus'' in the South Platte River of Nebraska.
''J Parasit'' 75(3) 344–47. For a long time, fish of the closely related species '' Fundulus kansae'' were considered to be members of ''F. zebrinus'', the names being synonyms.Poss, S. G. and R. R. Miller. (1983)
Taxonomic status of the plains killifish, ''Fundulus zebrinus''.
''Copeia'' 1 55–67. ''F. kansae'' was sometimes considered a subspecies of ''F. zebrinus''.Echelle, A. A., et al. (1971)
Diurnal periodicity of activities in the plains killifish, ''Fundulus zebrinus kansae''.
''Proc Okla Acad Sci'' 51 3-7. Molecular and genetic studies supported the separation of the species.Kreiser, B. R. (2001)
Mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences support recognition of two cryptic species of plains killifish, ''Fundulus zebrinus'' and ''Fundulus kansae''.
''The American Midland Naturalist'' 146(1) 199–209.Kreiser, B. R., et al. (2001)
Phylogeography of the plains killifish, ''Fundulus zebrinus''.
''Evolution'' 55(2) 339–50. ''F. zebrinus'' is slightly larger than ''F. kansae'', with larger scales and larger eyes. The fins of the breeding male become more red in color, whereas the male ''F. kansae'' develops a more yellow-orange fin color.Hendrickson, D. A. and A. E. Cohen

2012. Fishes of Texas Project and Online Database. Texas Natural History Collection, Texas Natural Science Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Distribution

This species has a wide range, mostly in the central United States. Its native range is mostly within the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

. It includes much of the Mississippi River drainage, parts of the Colorado and

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

s, and some areas in the Rio Grande region, especially the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( ; ) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elev ...

.Fuller, P. 2013
''Fundulus zebrinus''.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. Its distribution was influenced by

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

changes in the geography of the local river systems, such as

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

. Many occurrences of the fish represent introductions, such as populations at

Lake Powell Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It holds of water when full, second in the United States to only the ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, the

Fort Peck Reservoir The Fort Peck Dam is the highest of six major dams along the Missouri River, located in northeast Montana in the United States, near Glasgow, Montana, Glasgow, and adjacent to the community of Fort Peck, Montana, Fort Peck. At in length and o ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and several tributaries of the Colorado River in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, Utah, and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. Some occurrences may or may not be native. Fish introductions began in earnest around the 1930s. Most introductions occurred when plains killifish were used as bait by anglers and escaped into the wild to establish new populations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1968192 zebrinus Freshwater fish of the United States Endemic fish of the United States Fish of the Eastern United States Fish of the Western United States Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Fauna of the Southwestern United States Least concern biota of the United States Fish described in 1883 Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert