Banded killifish
| Banded killifish | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Fundulidae |
| Genus: | Fundulus |
| Species: | F. diaphanus |
| Binomial name | |
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Fundulus diaphanus (Lesueur, 1817) |
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| Range of the banded killifish | |
The banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus) is a North American species of temperate freshwater killifish belonging to the Fundulus genus of the Fundulidae family. The natural geographic range extends from Newfoundland to South Carolina, and west to Minnesota. It includes the Great Lakes drainages. The banded killifish is the only freshwater killifish found in the northeastern United States. While it is primarily a freshwater species, it can occasionally be found in brackish water.
The common name, "banded killifish", commonly refers to the distinct black and white vertical bandings found along their sides. The Latin genus name Fundulus is the diminutive of fundus, which means "bottom," and the specific name diaphanus means "transparent" in Greek.
The banded killifish has an olive color on the dorsal surface and white coloring on the ventral. The throat and fins are yellowish. There are vertical blackish and silver-white stripes along the sides.
There are 13–15 rays on a banded killifish's dorsal fin and 10–12 on the anal fin. The homocercal tail is slightly convex or rounded. It also has a small pelvic fin along the abdomen. The body is slender and elongated, with a flattish side and flattened head and small terminal mouth positioned for surface feeding. The banded killifish has a row of small sharp teeth lining their upper and lower jaws. It does not have a lateral line along the side but does have 39 to 43 cycloid scales in the lateral series.
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