Lucania parva

Lucania parva
Rainwater Killifish – Lucania parva
FamilyScientific NameAuthorYearCommon Name
FundulidaeLucania parva(Baird and Girard)1853Rainwater Killifish

Lucania parva

Unique Characters: Head and body straw colored, sometimes with dark blotches. Large, dark-edged scales on sides and back. Male has a dark spot at front of dorsal fin. Jaw teeth in a single row; any teeth behind the row not organized into rows. 8 or fewer scale rows between origin of dorsal fin and origin of anal fin.

Similar Species:

Bluefin Killifish
Lucania goodei

Eastern Mosquitofish
Gambusia holbrooki

Lucania goodei
Bluefin Killifish – Lucania goodei
Gambusia holbrooki
Eastern Mosquitofish – Gambusia holbrooki

Bluefin Killifish Lucania goodei. Wide zigzag black stripe on the side that extends from tip of snout to black spot on caudal fin base. Male usually has blue in dorsal and anal fins and a red base in the caudal fin. There are 8-11 dorsal fin rays. Restricted to Burnt Mill Creek and an impoundment of the creek at Anne McCrary Park in Wilmington, New Hanover County (Cape Fear basin).

Eastern Mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki. Head wider and flatter with a distinct wide and pointed snout. Male with prominent gonopdium which is lacking in the Rainwater Killifish. Third anal ray unbranched, but branched in the Rainwater Killifish.

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