{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Fundulus zebrinus.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=NatureServe. |author2=Lyons, T.J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |title=''Fundulus zebrinus'' |article-number=e.T191315A129982415 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T191315A129982415.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=ns/> | taxon = Fundulus zebrinus | authority = Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 | synonyms = *''Plancterus zebrinus'' <small>(Jordan & Gilbert, 1883)</small> *''Hydrargyra zebra'' <small>Girard, 1859</small> *''Fundulus zebra'' <small>(Girard, 1859)</small> *''Fundulus adinia'' <small>Jordan & Gilbert, 1883</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = FB>{{FishBase|Fundulus|zebrinus|month=April|year=2019}}</ref> }}
'''''Fundulus zebrinus''''' is a species of fish in the Fundulidae known by the common name '''plains killifish'''. It is native to North America, where it is distributed throughout the Mississippi River, Colorado River, and Rio Grande drainages, and other river systems; many of its occurrences represent introduced populations.<ref name=ns>{{cite web |title=''Fundulus zebrinus'' |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.791402/Fundulus_zebrinus |website=NatureServe|publisher=The Nature Conservancy}}</ref>
== Description == This fish grows up to about {{cvt|6.9|cm|in}}, with a maximum length of {{cvt|8-10|cm|in}}.<ref name=FB/><ref name=rahel>Rahel, F. J. and L. A. Thel. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170301093152/https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5206791.pdf Plains Killifish (''Fundulus zebrinus''): A Technical Conservation Assessment.] Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project. March 18, 2004.</ref> Its lifespan is up to 3 years,<ref name=FB/> but most fish do not exceed two.<ref name=ns/> 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<ref name=rahel/> that give the species its scientific name, meaning "like a zebra".<ref name=FB/> The males have wider, darker bars than the females. The breeding male develops bright orange coloration on most of his fins.<ref name=rahel/>
This species feeds on chironomid larvae, copepods, nematodes, and other small animals.<ref name=off>{{cite thesis|author=Offill, K. R. |year=2003 |degree=Master of Science |url=http://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/8384/31295018754399.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Development and application of a bioenergetics model for the plains killifish (''Fundulus zebrinus'') and red river shiner (''Notropis bairdi'')|publisher=Texas Tech University}}</ref> It is also herbivorous.<ref name=ns/> 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,<ref name=rahel/> but the digestive tract usually contains an amount of sand.<ref name=off/> The fish eats mosquito larvae when available, and studies suggest it might be useful in mosquito abatement efforts.<ref name=nels>Nelson, S. M. and L. C. Keenan. (1992). [https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_103140_useofanindigenousfishspeciesfu1992 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.</ref>
The fish lives in a number of shallow river and stream habitat types. It may occur in lower, moderate and swift, turbid water flows.<ref name=ns/> It may be found in lakes.<ref name=rahel/> It is tolerant of brackish, alkaline, and salty water, more so than most other local fish species.<ref name=FB/> It may bury itself in the substrate with only its eyes and mouth showing.<ref name=FB/> 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 parasites.<ref name=rahel/> The killifish may face predation by other fish, notably the green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus''); where this predator occurs, killifish populations drop.<ref name=lohr>Lohr, S. C. and K. D. Fausch. (1996). [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30055100?uid=3739560&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101976314333 Effects of green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') predation on survival and habitat use of plains killifish (''Fundulus zebrinus'').] ''The Southwestern Naturalist'' 41(2) 155–60.</ref>
Spawning is associated with water temperature, usually occurring when the temperature exceeds {{cvt|26|C|F}}. Spawning season has been noted to start in April and continue through August.<ref name=rahel/>
A number of parasites have been observed on this species, including ''Myxosoma funduli'', a myxozoan, a species of ''Trichodina'', a protozoan, ''Urocleidus fundulus'', a fluke, and ''Gyrodactylus bulbacanthus'', a monogenean, all of which infest the gills. 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.<ref name=jan>Janovy, J. J. and E. L. Hardin. (1987). [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=bioscijanovy Population dynamics of the parasites in ''Fundulus zebrinus'' in the Platte River of Nebraska.] ''J Parasit'' 73(4) 689–96.</ref> The monogenean gill parasite ''Salsuginus thalkeni'' was first described from the fish.<ref name=jan2>Janovy, J. J., et al. (1989). [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/bioscijanovy/13/ ''Salsuginus thalkeni'' n. sp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) from ''Fundulus zebrinus'' in the South Platte River of Nebraska.] ''J Parasit'' 75(3) 344–47.</ref>
For a long time, fish of the closely related species ''Fundulus kansae'' were considered to be members of ''F. zebrinus'', the names being synonyms.<ref name=poss>Poss, S. G. and R. R. Miller. (1983). [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1444698?uid=3739560&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101976314333 Taxonomic status of the plains killifish, ''Fundulus zebrinus''.] ''Copeia'' 1 55–67.</ref> ''F. kansae'' was sometimes considered a subspecies of ''F. zebrinus''.<ref name=ech>Echelle, A. A., et al. (1971). [http://digital.library.okstate.edu/oas/oas_pdf/v51/p3_7.pdf Diurnal periodicity of activities in the plains killifish, ''Fundulus zebrinus kansae''.] ''Proc Okla Acad Sci'' 51 3-7.</ref> Molecular and genetic studies supported the separation of the species.<ref name=kre>Kreiser, B. R. (2001). [http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1674/0003-0031%282001%29146%5B0199%3AMCBSSR%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=amid 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.</ref><ref name=kre1>Kreiser, B. R., et al. (2001). [http://spot.colorado.edu/~mitton/PDFS/Kreiseretal01.pdf Phylogeography of the plains killifish, ''Fundulus zebrinus''.] ''Evolution'' 55(2) 339–50.</ref> ''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.<ref name=tx>Hendrickson, D. A. and A. E. Cohen. [http://txstate.fishesoftexas.org/fundulus%20zebrinus.htm ''Fundulus zebrinus''.] 2012. Fishes of Texas Project and Online Database. Texas Natural History Collection, Texas Natural Science Center, University of Texas at Austin.</ref>
== Distribution == This species has a wide range, mostly in the central United States. Its native range is mostly within the Great Plains. It includes much of the Mississippi River drainage, parts of the Colorado and Brazos Rivers, and some areas in the Rio Grande region, especially the Pecos River.<ref name=full>Fuller, P. 2013. [https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=694 ''Fundulus zebrinus''.] USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.</ref> Its distribution was influenced by Pleistocene changes in the geography of the local river systems, such as glaciation.<ref name=kre1/> Many occurrences of the fish represent introductions, such as populations at Lake Powell in Arizona and Utah, the Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana, and several tributaries of the Colorado River in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. 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.<ref name=full/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1968192}}
zebrinus Category:Freshwater fish of the United States Category:Endemic fish of the United States Category:Fish of the Eastern United States Category:Fish of the Western United States Category:Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Category:Fauna of the Southwestern United States Category:Least concern biota of the United States Category:Fish described in 1883 Category:Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Category:Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert