Lined topminnow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lined topminnow |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Zygonectes lineolatus Agassiz, 1854 |
The lined topminnow (Fundulus lineolatus) is a small fish. It belongs to the Fundulus group of fish. You can find this fish in swamps and calm waters. It lives from southern Virginia all the way to Lake Okeechobee in Florida.
About the Lined Topminnow
The name Fundulus comes from a Latin word meaning "bottom." The word lineolatus is also Latin and means "having lines." This describes the fish well!
This fish has a silver body with black bars and spots. One special black bar is right under its eye, like a tear. This "teardrop" mark helps tell it apart from other similar fish. Some adult lined topminnows even have orange and red colors around their mouths. This small fish grows to be about 1.5 inches long.
Scientists once thought the lined topminnow was a type of Fundulus notti, also known as the bayou topminnow. The lined topminnow looks a bit like the least killifish. It also looks similar to the eastern mudminnow and the mosquitofish.
Life Cycle and Diet
In spring and summer, the lined topminnow lays its eggs. The eggs are tiny, about 1.6 millimeters in size.
These fish swim close to the water's surface. They eat plants, small crustaceans, and insect larvae. The northern water snake sometimes eats the lined topminnow. Another fish, the blackstripe topminnow, is also a meal for these snakes.
Where They Live
Lined topminnows live in many different water places. You can find them in streams, slow-moving rivers, ponds, and swamps. A famous swamp where they live is the Okefenokee Swamp.
These fish are very common and easy to catch. Because of this, people who fish often use them as fishing bait.
In 1999, a study looked at where these fish live. It found that there might be a connection between beaver dams and how close the fish live to these dams.
