Fundulus parvipinnis
California Killifish
NS
G4
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Cyprinodontiformes
Fundulidae (Topminnows)
Fundulus
Fundulus parvipinnis (California Killifish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Branchiostegal rays: 5-6 (Ref. 36572).
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: Morro Bay, California, USA to Bahía Magdalena, Baja California, Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. benthopelagic.
Biology
Commonly found in bays and salt marshes near shore, may enter freshwater (Ref. 36572). Often used in laboratories for environmental studies. Not a seasonal killifish. Is very difficult to maintain in aquarium (Ref. 27139). Oviparous, with micro-nektonic larvae (Ref. 36572). Single demersal eggs are attached to spawning substrate via small weakly adhesive filaments (Ref. 36572).
Max length: 10.8 cm TL; common length: 7.0 cm TL; max age: 3 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Oviparous (Ref. 36572).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-06-20. Resilience: High (K=0.93; tmax=3).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Miller, D.J. and R.N. Lea (1972) Guide to the coastal marine fishes of California. Calif. Fish Bull. (157):1-235.
Huber, J.H. (1996) Killi-Data 1996. Updated checklist of taxonomic names, collecting localities and bibliographic references of oviparous Cyprinodont fishes (Atherinomorpha, Pisces). Société Française d'Ichtyologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, 399 p.
Watson, W. (1996) Cyprinodontidae: killifishes. p. 620-623. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 1505 p.
De la Cruz Agüero, J., M. Arellano Martínez, V.M. Cota Gómez and G. de la Cruz-Agüero (1997) Catalogo de los peces marinos de Baja California Sur. IPN-CICIMAR, La Paz, Mexico. P. 346.
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