Animal
Mummichog
Fundulus heteroclitus
Also known as: common killifish, Atlantic killifish
A small (3–6 inch) hardy estuarine fish — the most-abundant fish in many Atlantic-coast salt marshes including Staten Island's. Tolerates extreme variations in salinity, temperature, and oxygen — among the most-studied vertebrate models for environmental adaptation. Common at Lemon Creek, Mount Loretto's tidal areas, and the harbor edges of the South Shore. Critical prey species for herons, egrets, ospreys, and larger fish.
Scientific
Fundulus heteroclitus is a small (3–6 inch) killifish native to Atlantic-coast estuaries from Newfoundland to Florida. Notable physiological tolerance — survives salinity from freshwater to 3× seawater, temperature from near-freezing to 95°F, low-oxygen conditions that kill most fish. One of the most-used vertebrate model organisms in environmental physiology and toxicology research.
Diet: invertebrates, algae, detritus. Spawns in salt-marsh substrate at high tides; eggs develop above the waterline between tides. Reproductive cycle is precisely tuned to lunar tide cycles.
Notable as one of the principal forage species in Atlantic salt-marsh food webs — the small-fish prey base for the marsh’s herons, egrets, kingfishers, ospreys, and larger predator fish.
On Staten Island
Among the most-abundant fish in the borough’s tidal creeks and salt marshes. Lemon Creek, [[mount-loretto-unique-area|Mount Loretto]]‘s tidal areas, harbor edges of the South Shore all support large populations. Easy to observe in any small tidepool or salt-marsh-edge water at low tide.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Substrate of: [[smooth-cordgrass]]
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- Long-term Fundulus environmental-physiology literature
- [[beacon-ny|New York]]/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program tidal-fish records
Rooted in life.
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