Lucania goodei
Bluefin Killifish
NS
G5
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Cyprinodontiformes
Fundulidae (Topminnows)
Lucania
Lucania goodei (Bluefin Killifish)
Description
Type Locality
Arlington River (tributary to St. Johns River), at Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida (Jordan 1880:240).
Synonymy
Chriopeops (monotypic genus) Lucania goodei
Characters
50 mm TL (Page and Burr 1991).
Conspicuous lateral stripe extending through eye to snout; body not barred (Hubbs et al. 2008).
10 or more dorsal fin rays; 30 or fewer longitudinal scale rows (Hubbs et al. 2008).
Body depth goes 4.5 to 5 times in standard length; distance from origin of dorsal fin to end of hypural plate more than distance from origin of dorsal fin to preopercle (Hubbs et al. 2008).
Distribution
: Native to southeastern United States; introduced in California, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas (Gallaway et al. 2008; Hubbs et al. 2008). :
Abundance/Conservation Status
Currently Stable (Warren et al. 2000) in the southern United States. Usually common to abundant (Gilbert and Burgess 1980).
Habitat Associations
Heavily vegetated ponds and streams, in areas of little or no current (Gilbert and Burgess 1980). Frequently associated with spring habitats, and may occur in waters of moderate salinities (up to 10.3 ppt; Kilby 1955; Gilbert and Burgess 1980). Species may occur in waters of extremely low dissolved oxygen content, where it apparently uses small, upturned mouth to obtain oxygen from thin surface film as does Gambusia affinis (Lewis 1970; Gilbert and Burgess 1980).
Biology
Late January to mid-September throughout most of range, with reproductive peak from late-March to mid-summer (some populations appear to reproduce throughout year; Gilbert and Burgess 1980).
Eggs laid in dense vegetation (Gilbert and Burgess 1980).
Not definitely determined, but probably no more than 2 years (Gilbert and Burgess 1980).
Mostly epiphytes and sometimes bits of vascular plants (Gilbert and Burgess 1980).
References
Briggs, J.C. 1958. A list of Florida fishes and their distribution. Bull. Fla. State Mus. Biol. Sci. 2:223-318.
Crawford, S.S., and E.K. Balon. 1994. Alternative life histories of the genus Lucania: 2. Early ontogeny of L. goodei, the bluefin killifish. Environmental Biology of Fishes 41(1-4):331-367.
Gallaway, B.J., R.G. Fechhelm, and R.G. Howells. 2008. Introduction of the bluefin killifish (Lucania goodei) in Texas. Texas Journal of Science 60(1):69-72.
Gilbert, C.R., and G.H. Burgess. 1980. Lucania goodei (Jordan), Bluefin killifish. pp. 534 in D. S. Lee et al., Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. N. C. State Mus. Nat. Hist., Raleigh, i-r+854 pp.
Hubbs, C., R.J. Edwards, and G.P. Garrett. 2008. An annotated checklist of the freshwater fishes of Texas, with keys to identification of species. Texas Journal of Science, Supplement, 2nd edition 43(4):1-87.
Jordan, D.S. 1880. Description of new species of North American fishes. Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. [1879] 2:235-241.
Kilby, J.D. 1955. The fishes of two Gulf coastal marsh areas in Florida. Tulane Stud. Zool. 2:175-247.
Lewis, W.M., Jr. 1970. Morphological adaptations of cyprinodontoids for inhabiting oxygen deficient waters. Copeia 1970(2):319-326.
Page, L. M. & B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 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.
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