PHYLUM:
Chordata; CLASS: Osteichthyes SUPERORDER: Teleostei
FAMILY: Cyprinidontidae
GENUS:
Fundulus; SPECIES: diaphanus; DESCRIBER:
(Lesueur)
Position
of Fundulus
diaphanus in
worldwide arrangement of fish species.
What
are BANDED
KILLIFISH?
Banded
Killifish are small, 65-75 mm (2.5-3 in), slightly
elongate, minnow– shaped
fish with a distinct flattened
top of head in the family Cyprinidontidae. They are
brown to olive-green on the back becoming silvery
or yellow-silvery on the sides and white or yellowish
white below. Twelve to 20 vertical black bars are
apparent on their sides.They occur in quiet, freshwaters
from western Ontario east to the Maritime provinces.
Banded Killifish eat insect larvae, ostracods, cladocera
and copepods.
EARLY
LIFE HISTORY of the BANDED
KILLIFISH:
Spawning Season of Adult BANDED KILLIFISH: Summer,
in temperatures above 20°.
Where BANDED KILLIFISH Eggs are Found: Males
create territories in quiet, shallow waters after
which females move in and males pursue them. Eggs
are released in clusters, ca. 5 to 10 eggs each,
with a single adhesive thread attached to each
egg which then adheres to nearby aquatic plants.
We observed numerous scattered single eggs of the
BANDED KILLIFISH in Lac Heney, Québec
attached to leaves of Vallisneria spp. at
a depth of ca. 120 cm.
Characteristics of Eggs: Demersal, single
long, adhesive thread attached, diameter of eggs ca.
2.0 mm.
Size
of Babies at Hatching: 6
mm to 7 mm at 11 to 12 days of incubation.
Movements of BANDED KILLIFISH Babies after hatching: The
eggs of BANDED KILLIFISH hatched on Vallesnaria sp.
leaves in water ca. 130 cm deep in Lac Heney
and the babies moved towards shore and were regularly
found along shores singly or in small numbers,
not in schools (Ref. 17).
