Gulf killifish 



Fundulus grandis 

 Adult 



2 cm 



(from Eddy 1969) 



Common Name: gulf killifish 



Scientific Name: Fundulus grandis 



Other Common Names: Chub, finger mullet, top 



minnow, bullminnow, mudminnow, mudfish (Gunter 



1945, Hoese and Moore 1977, Waas et al. 1983). 



Classification (Rosen 1964, Rosen and Patterson 



1969, Robins et al. 1991) 



Phylum: Chordata 



Class: Osteichthyes 



Order: Atheriniformes 



Family: Cyprinodontidae 



Value 



Commercial : This species has some commercial value 

 as a live bait fish. Supplies are derived entirely from 

 wild populations where they are trapped or seined. 

 Fish have been reported to sell at $0.65 per dozen 

 (Waas et al. 1 983), but total dollar value of this industry 

 is unknown since, due to its limited size, no statistics 

 are available (Simpson and Gunter 1956, Hoese and 

 Moore 1977, Perschbacher and Strawn 1986, Waas 

 and Strawn 1 983). Several studies have examined the 

 feasibility of commercial production of gulf killifish and 

 found it could be economically profitable (Trimble et al. 

 1 981 , Tatum et al. 1 982, Waas et al. 1 983, MacGregor 

 etal. 1983). 



Recreational : Gulf killifish are used along the Gulf 

 coast, especially in Alabama, by recreational fisher- 

 men who prize this species as a live bait for flounder, 

 red drum, sand seatrout, and spotted seatrout (Simpson 

 and Gunter 1 956, Hoese and Moore 1 977, Waas et al. 

 1983, Perschbacher and Strawn 1986). 



Indicator of Environmental Stress : The gulf killifish has 

 been used occasionally as an indicator organism 



(Courtney and Couch 1984). Studies by the U.S. 

 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others 

 suggest it may be a responsive, useful estuarine spe- 

 cies in research on the effects of water-soluble frac- 

 tions of fuel oil, organochlorides, and carcinogens 

 (Ernst and Neff 1 977, Courtney and Couch 1 984). The 

 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has used 

 this species to study the effects of acidified water on 

 estuarine life (McFarlane and Livingston 1 983, Courtney 

 and Couch 1984). Bioaccumulation of contaminants 

 and liver lesions in gulf killifish have been found to be 

 correlated with substrate contaminant levels in Tampa 

 Bay (McCain etal. 1996). 



Ecological : The gulf killifish is important in the export of 

 energy from salt marshes by serving as food for larger 

 fish and piscivorous birds (Jenni 1969, Perschbacher 

 and Strawn 1986), and in the control of salt marsh 

 mosquito populations through predation (Harrington 

 and Harrington 1961). 



Range 



Overall : Distribution is continuous from Laguna de 

 Tamiahua, Veracruz, Mexico throughout the Gulf of 

 Mexico and along the Atlantic coast of northeastern 

 Florida up to the Mantangas River. It is also found in 

 Cuba (Rivas 1948, Blair et al. 1968, Kushlan and 

 Lodge 1974, Relyea 1983, Duggins et al. 1989). It is 

 closely related to the mummichog (F. heteroclitus) 

 (Duggins et al. 1989, Bernardi and Powers 1995), 

 which occurs in estuaries of the U.S. east coast as far 

 south as Indian River, Florida (Nelson et al. 1991). 



Within Study Area : Within U.S. Gulf of Mexico estuar- 

 ies, the gulf killifish occurs from Florida Bay, Florida to 

 the Rio Grande, Texas (Table 5.23) (Springer and 



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