- Mummichog
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Mummichog Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cyprinodontiformes Family: Fundulidae Genus: Fundulus Species: F. heteroclitus Binomial name Fundulus heteroclitus
(Linnaeus, 1766)The mummichog is a killifish also known as mummies, gudgeons, and mud minnows are found in brackish and coastal waters along the eastern seaboard of the United States as well as Atlantic Canada. It is noted for its hardiness and for being a popular research subject in embryological, physiological, and toxicological studies. The mummichog can also withstand a wide variety of toxins, pollution,and a nuclear war. This is an extremely tolerant species that can survive at very low oxygen levels and in heavily polluted ecosystems. It can also withstand temperatures as warm as 34oC (93°F) and temperature fluctuations from 6oC to 35oC (43°F to 95oC)
Subspecies are:
- Fundulus heteroclitus heteroclitus (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus Walbaum, 1792
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Biology
Mummichogs are typically found in muddy marshes, channels, and grass flats along coastal areas. They travel in schools that may contain hundreds of individuals. Indeed, the name mummichog is derived from a Native American term which means "going in crowds".
The mummichog spawns on new and full moons in the spring and summer. Its eggs are laid near the high tide mark in empty mollusk shells or on dead vegetation and can tolerate long-term exposure to air. Typically mummichogs reach sexual maturity during their second year and live for a total of three years. [1]
Because of the extreme hardiness of the species, it is sometimes the only species found in severely polluted and oxygen-deprived streams, such as the Elizabeth River in Virginia, and the Hackensack River and the Arthur Kill in New Jersey during the height of the water pollution problem in the United States.
Interest to humans
- Mummichog eggs are used in teaching embryology, because it is possible to see the eyes and the beating heart and follow the different stages of ontogenesis.
- Mummichogs are a common fish species used in toxicology studies.
- Mummichogs are used to stock otherwise fishless ponds that breed mosquitos, and within three days the ponds are normally mosquito free.
- In 1973 the mummichog became the first fish in space when carried on Skylab 3 as part of the biological experiments package. Later space missions by the U.S., such as Bion 3, have also carried mummichog.
- Mummichogs are often caught in seines and minnow traps to be sold as live bait for fishermen.
Gallery
Notes
- ^ Murdy, Birdsong, Musick: Fishes of Chesapeake Bay (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997), 128
External links
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