Fundulus zebrinus

plains killifish

Type Locality

“Rio Grande in New Mexico” (Jordan and Gilbert 1883).

Etymology/Derivation of Scientific Name

Fundulus, from the Latin name Fundus, meaning "bottom," the habitat; zebrinus, "like a zebra," a reference to the vertical bars or stripes (Pflieger 1997). Name zebrinus is substitute name for zebra preoccupied in Fundulus (Shute and Allen 1980).

Synonymy

Fundulus zebrinus Jordan and Gilbert 1883:891.

Kreiser et al. (2001) and Kreiser (2001) presented data supporting the recognition of two species of plains killifish: Fundulus kansae (northern plains killifish) and Fundulus zebrinus.

Characters

Maximum size: 100 mm TL (Shute and Allen 1980; Page and Burr 1991).

Coloration: Dark olive back, fading to yellowish on sides and to silvery white on the belly; 12 or more dark bands (fewer and wider on male) mark the sides. Bright red fins on large male (Koster 1957; Page and Burr 1991).

Counts: 41-49 lateral scale rows (Hubbs 1926; Koster 1957). Counts based on data from Pecos River; Colorado River, Texas; and Brazos River populations: 11-16 dorsal fin rays, 9-14 anal fin rays (Poss and Miller 1983).

Body shape: Compressed, moderately elongated body with large head, wide mouth, and projecting lower jaw (Koster 1957).

Mouth position: Terminal; lower lip large and fleshy (Sublette et al. 1990).

External morphology: The least width of the preorbital (flat bone between the eye and mouth) is only one-half to two-thirds as great as diameter of the eye (Koster 1957). Fundulus zebrinus shares the following morphological characteristics with Fundulus kansae (northern plains killifish): Dorsal fin long and rounded; pectoral and pelvic fins ovate, pectorals much larger than pelvics; anal fin elongate, sharply angulate; caudal fin truncate (Sublette et al. 1990). Gill slit not extending dorsal to uppermost pectoral fin ray. Distance from origin of dorsal fin to end of hypural plate less than distance from origin of dorsal fin to preopercle or occasionally about equal to that distance (Hubbs et al 1991). Male has slight depression in the region of the urogenital papilla; female has an oviducal sheath surrounding the urogenital region and the anterior edge of the anal fin (Bonham 1962). Males possess small slender contact organs, hooked forward, on the anal fin and adjacent portion of the body

(Hubbs 1926).

Distribution (Native and Introduced)

U.S. distribution: Reported from near the mouth of the Black River, New Mexico, where it was apparently maintained by immigration from resident populations in the adjacent Pecos River (Cowley and Sublette 1987; Sublette et al. 1990). Shute and Allen (1980) noted distribution of F. zebrinus (= Fundulus z. zebrinus) in the Rio Grande/Pecos drainage of New Mexico.

Texas distribution: Shute and Allen (1980) noted distribution of F. zebrinus (= Fundulus z. zebrinus) in the Trinity, Brazos, Colorado, and Rio Grande/Pecos drainages of Texas. Kreiser (2001) and Kreiser et al. (2001) reported collection of this species from the Pecos, Brazos and Red Rivers (the Colorado River was not sampled in the study). Ostrand and Wilde (2004) reported that Fundulus zebrinus was a dominant species in pools sampled in the upper Brazos River drainage, composing 7.1% of the fish collected. Species collected from Independence Creek (largest tributary of lower Pecos River; Bonner et al. 2005).

Abundance/Conservation status (Federal, State, NGO)

Populations in the southern United States are currently stable (Warren et al. 2000).

Habitat Associations

Macrohabitat: Found in shallows of ponds and streams at lower elevations in the Pecos Valley (Koster 1957).

Mesohabitat: According to Ostrand and Wilde (2001), this species has high thermal, low dissolved oxygen, and high salinity tolerances: mean critical thermal maxima = 42.0 ± 0.2°C; salinity tolerance = 43 ± 0.05‰; mean minimum dissolved oxygen tolerance = 1.25 ± 0.09 mg/L. Griffith (1974) reported tolerance of salinities as high as 89‰. Ostrand and Wilde (2004) collected species from isolated pools in the upper Brazos River drainage, Texas; found in pools with salinities as high as 110‰. Hubbs (1957) reported that this species occurs abundantly in the saline waters of the Pecos River, Texas. F. zebrinus was one of seven species (all tolerant of a wide range of salinities) in communities that dominated areas of high conductivity, in the Pecos River drainage, Texas (Linam and Kleinsasser 1996). Collected from the Colorado River, Texas, from sandy bottomed draws that periodically go dry; water was highly saline to the taste, and salt encrustaceans were present on dry areas of the bed (Echelle et al. 1977).

Biology: Koster (1957) noted that in so far as known, the habits and value of Fundulus zebrinus are similar to those of F. kansae (northern plains killifish). See Fundulus kansae account for additional information.

Spawning season:

Spawning location:

Reproductive strategy:

Fecundity:

Age at maturation:

Migration: 

Longevity:

Food habits:

Growth:

Phylogeny and morphologically similar fishes

Fundulus zebrinus differs from F. kansae (northern plains killifish) in having larger scales, larger eyes and a more robust body; F. zebrinus has 41-49 lateral scales (Hubbs 1926), the large male of the species having bright red fins; F. kansae has 52-68 lateral scales, the large male of the species having yellow-orange fins (Page and Burr 1991). F. zebrinus has 12 or more vertical dark bands marking the sides; these bars distinguishing the species from live-bearers of similar shape (Koster 1957).

Host Records

Commercial or Environmental Importance

[Additional literature noting collection of this species from Texas locations includes, but is not limited to the following: Hubbs (1957); Rhodes and Hubbs (1992); Birnbaum (2005).]

References

Birnbaum, J.S. 2005. Associations of watershed and instream environmental factors with aquatic macrofauna in tributaries of the Perdernales River, Texas. M.S. Thesis, Texas A&M University, College Station. 112 pp.

Bonham, L.E. 1962. Ecology of a saline spring, Boone's Lick. M.A. Thesis, Univ. Mo., Columbia. 89 pp.

Bonner, T.H., C. Thomas, C.S. Williams, and J.P. Karges. 2005. Temporal assessment of a west Texas stream fish assemblage. The Southwestern Naturalist 50(1):74-106.

Cowley, D.E., and J.E. Sublette. 1987. Distribution of fishes in the Black River drainage, Eddy County, New Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 32(2):213-221.

Echelle, A.A., A.F. Echelle, and F.B. Cross. 1977. First records of Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis (Cyprinodontidae) from the Colorado and Arkansas River Systems, Texas. The Southwestern Naturalist 22(1):142-143.

Griffith, R.W. 1974. Environment and salinity tolerance in the genus Fundulus. Copeia 1974(2):319-331.

Hubbs, C. 1957. Distributional patterns of Texas fresh-water fishes. The Southwestern Naturalist 2(2/3):89-104.

Hubbs, C., R.J. Edwards, and G.P. Garrett. 1991. An annotated checklist of the freshwater fishes of Texas, with keys to identification of species. Texas Journal of Science, Supplement 43(4):1-56.

Hubbs, C. L. 1926. Studies of the fishes of the order Cyprinodontes. VI. Material for a revision of the American genera and species. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 16:1-86.

Jordan, D.S., and C.H. Gilbert. 1883. Synopsis of the fishes of North America. U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 16:1-1018.

Koster, W.J. 1957. Guide to the Fishes of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 116 pp.

Kreiser, B.R. 2001. Mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences support recognition of two   cryptic species of plains killifish, Fundulus zebrinus and Fundulus kansae. American Midland Naturalist 146:199-209.

Kreiser, B.R., J.B. Mitton, and J.D. Woodling. 2001. Phylogeography of the plains killifish, Fundulus zebrinus. Evolution 55(2):339-350.

Linam, G.W., and L.J. Kleinsasser. 1996. Relationship between fishes and water quality in the Pecos River, Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, River Studies Report No. 9, Austin.

Ostrand, K.G., and G.R. Wilde. 2001. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, and salinity tolerances of five prairie stream fishes and their role in explaining fish assemblage patterns. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 130:742-749.

Ostrand, K.G., and G.R.Wilde. 2004. Changes in prairie stream fish assemblages restricted to isolated streambed pools. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 133:1329-1338.

Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr.  1991.  A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America, north of Mexico.  Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 432 pp.

Poss, S.G., and R.R. Miller. 1983. Taxonomic status of the plains killifish, Fundulus zebrinus. Copeia 1983(1):55-67.

Pflieger, W.L.  1997.  The Fishes of Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, 372 pp.

Rhodes, K., and C.Hubbs. 1992. Recovery of Pecos River fishes from a Red Tide fish kill. The Southwestern Naturalist 37(2):178-187.

Shute, J.R., and A.W. Allen. 1980.  Fundulus zebrinus (Jordan and Gilbert), Plains killifish. pp. 531 in D. S. Lee et al., Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. N. C. State Mus. Nat. Hist., Raleigh, i-r+854 pp.

Sublette, J.E., M.D. Hatch, and M. Sublette. 1990. The Fishes of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 393 pp.

Warren, M.L., Jr., B.M. Burr, S.J. Walsh, H.L. Bart, Jr., R.C. Cashner, D.A. Etnier, B.J. Freeman, B.R. Kuhajda, R.L. Mayden, H.W. Robison, S.T. Ross, and W.C. Starnes. 2000. Diversity, Distribution, and Conservation status of the native freshwater fishes of the southern United States. Fisheries 25(10):7-29.