Mummichog
Two males at top and bottom, female in middle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cyprinodontiformes Family: Fundulidae Genus: Fundulus Species: heteroclitus
Trinomial name
Fundulus heteroclitus heteroclitus

The Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus heteroclitus) is a small killifish found in the eastern United States. It is capable of tolerating highly variable salinity and temperatures, and is found in estuaries and saltmarshes as well as less salty waters.

Its eggs stick to submerged plants and green algae. The 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. These fish are used to stock otherwise fishless ponds that breed mosquitos, and within three days the ponds are normally mosquito free.

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 Hackensack River and the Arthur Kill in New Jersey during the height of the water pollution problem in the United States.

External links

• Fishbase entry (with image)