Mummichog
Encyclopedia
The mummichog is a killifish
also known as mummies, gudgeons, and mud minnows are found in brackish and coastal waters along the eastern seaboard of the United States
as well as Atlantic Canada
. It is noted for its hardiness and for being a popular research subject in embryological, physiological, and toxicological studies. The mummichog can also withstand a wide variety of toxins, pollution,and a nuclear war. This is an extremely tolerant species that can survive at very low oxygen levels and in heavily polluted ecosystems. It can also withstand temperatures as warm as 34oC (93°F) and temperature fluctuations from 6oC to 35oC (43°F to 95oC)
Subspecies
are:
The mummichog spawns on new and full moons in the spring and summer. Its eggs are laid near the high tide mark in empty mollusk shells or on dead vegetation and can tolerate long-term exposure to air. Typically mummichogs reach sexual maturity during their second year and live for a total of three years.
Because of the extreme hardiness of the species, it is sometimes the only species found in severely polluted and oxygen
-deprived streams, such as the Elizabeth River in Virginia, and the Hackensack River
and the Arthur Kill
in New Jersey
during the height of the water pollution problem in the United States
.
Killifish
A killifish is any of various oviparous cyprinodontiform fish . Altogether, there are some 1270 different species of killifish, the biggest family being Rivulidae, containing more than 320 species...
also known as mummies, gudgeons, and mud minnows are found in brackish and coastal waters along the eastern seaboard of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as well as Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
. It is noted for its hardiness and for being a popular research subject in embryological, physiological, and toxicological studies. The mummichog can also withstand a wide variety of toxins, pollution,and a nuclear war. This is an extremely tolerant species that can survive at very low oxygen levels and in heavily polluted ecosystems. It can also withstand temperatures as warm as 34oC (93°F) and temperature fluctuations from 6oC to 35oC (43°F to 95oC)
Subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are:
- Fundulus heteroclitus heteroclitus (LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1766) - Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus WalbaumJohann Julius WalbaumJohann Julius Walbaum was a physician, naturalist and taxonomist. He was the first to describe many previously unknown species from remote parts of the globe, such as the Great Barracuda , the Chum salmon from the Kamchatka River in Siberia, and the curimatá-pacú Johann Julius Walbaum (30 June...
, 1792
Biology
Mummichogs are typically found in muddy marshes, channels, and grass flats along coastal areas. They travel in schools that may contain hundreds of individuals. Indeed, the name mummichog is derived from a Native American term which means "going in crowds".The mummichog spawns on new and full moons in the spring and summer. Its eggs are laid near the high tide mark in empty mollusk shells or on dead vegetation and can tolerate long-term exposure to air. Typically mummichogs reach sexual maturity during their second year and live for a total of three years.
Because of the extreme hardiness of the species, it is sometimes the only species found in severely polluted and oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
-deprived streams, such as the Elizabeth River in Virginia, and the Hackensack River
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
and the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
during the height of the water pollution problem in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Interest to humans
- Mummichog eggs are used in teaching embryologyEmbryologyEmbryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...
, because it is possible to see the eyes and the beating heartHeartThe heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
and follow the different stages of ontogenesis.
- Mummichogs are a common fish species used in toxicology studies.
- Mummichogs are used to stock otherwise fishless ponds that breed mosquitoMosquitoMosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
s, and within three days the ponds are normally mosquito free.
- In 1973 the mummichog became the first fish in space when carried on Skylab 3Skylab 3Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes...
as part of the biological experiments package. Later space missions by the U.S., such as Bion 3Bion 3Bion 3 was a Bion satellite. It was the first joint U.S.-Soviet biomedical research flight. It carried fourteen experiments prepared by seven countries in all, with participation from scientists in France, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.It included a centrifuge with revolving and...
, have also carried mummichog.
- Mummichogs are often caught in seines and minnow traps to be sold as live bait for fishermen.