Genus: Lucania, Brightfin Killifishes

LUCANIA

BRIGHTFIN KILLIFISHES

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, 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.

A north American genus with 3 species; 1 of them enters brackish water in our area.