Species: Lucania parva, Rainwater Killifish

Lucania parva (Baird & Girard, 1855)
Rainwater Killifish
Body robust, elongate, compressed at rear; head blunt, flattened above with straight upper profile; front nostril not tubular; cover of eye not continuous with head skin; mouth small, oblique, protrusible, lower jaw slightly projecting; jaws with a single row of hooked teeth; gill rakers short, 7 lower rakers; no spines in fins; dorsal fin short based, at about midbody, a little behind pelvic base, 9-14 rays; anal fin origin under middle of dorsal fin base, 3rd fin ray branched, 8-13 rays; tail fin bluntly rounded; pectoral with narrow base, rounded, inserted low on side, 10-15 rays; pelvics inserted well behind pectoral; large smooth scales, 28-31 on lateral line, 8 or fewer between origin of dorsal fin and origin of anal fin; lateral line reduced to a series of pits along side of body.
Pale green, olive or brown above; with pigment outlining scales; a vertical oval black spot at front of the dorsal fin; males with inner ½ of tail fin orangish, outer margin blackish; anal and pelvic fins with reddish, black edged margins.
Reaches 7 cm.
Freshwater, brackish water and marine; in quiet vegetated areas.
Depth range: 0-1 m.
Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom + water column
- Near Bottom
- Water column only
- Habitat
-
- Submerged vegetation
- Water column
- Beach
- Estuary
- Freshwater
- FishBase Habitat
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- Pelagic
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Planktivore
- Diet
-
- Data
- Zooplankton
- Insects
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
-
- Benthic
- Data
- No pelagic larva
- No pelagic phase
- Global Endemism
-
- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
-
- Continent
- Continent only
- Extends North of GC
- GC non-endemic
- All species
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 7
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 1