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Fundulus stellifer

(Jordan, 1877)

Southern Studfish

G4Apparently Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101364
Element CodeAFCNB04190
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCyprinodontiformes
FamilyFundulidae
GenusFundulus
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Fundulus bifax formerly was included in F. stellifer; bifax is separable from stellifer by complete allelic differences at several loci and by details of pigmentation and breeding coloration (Rogers and Cashner 1987, Cashner et al. 1988). Allozyme data indicate that F. stellifer is the sister species to the F. catenatus-F. bifax clade (Cashner et al. 1992).

See Rogers and Cashner (1987) and Cashner et al. (1992) for an allozyme-based phylogenetic analysis of the genus Fundulus. See Wiley (1986) for a study of the evolutionary relationships of Fundulus topminnows based on morphological characters.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2012-02-02
Change Date1996-09-20
Edition Date2012-02-02
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 300
Range Extent Comments
Range includes the Alabama (except Tallapoosa River system) and upper Chattahoochee river drainages, Georgia, Alabama, and southeastern Tennessee; one record from Chickamauga Creek, a Tennessee River tributary, in northwestern Georgia, where presumably the species was introduced (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 2011).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Margins, pools, and backwaters of creeks and small to medium rivers; most common in shallow sandy backwaters of clean rocky creeks (Page and Burr 2011).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
GeorgiaS3Yes
AlabamaS4Yes
TennesseeS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (1)
Alabama (1)
AreaForestAcres
Oakey MountainTalladega National Forest6,129
References (18)
  1. Boschung, H. T., and R. L. Mayden. 2004. Fishes of Alabama. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 960 pp.
  2. Cashner, R. C., J. S. Rogers, and J. M. Grady. 1988. <i>Fundulus bifax</i>, a new species of the subgenus <i>Xenisma</i> from the Tallapoosa and Coosa river systems of Alabama and Georgia. Copeia 1988:674-683.
  3. Cashner, R. C., J. S. Rogers, and J. M. Grady. 1992. Phylogenetic studies of the genus <i>Fundulus</i>. Pages 421-437 in R.L. Mayden, editor. Systematics, historical ecology, and North American freshwater fishes. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. xxvi + 969 pp.
  4. Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. xiv + 681 pp.
  5. Huver, C. W. 1973. A bibliography of the genus <i>Fundulus</i>. G. K. Hall and Company, Boston. v + 138 pp.
  6. Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
  7. Matthews, W. J., and D. C. Heins, editors. 1987. Community and evolutionary ecology of North American stream fishes. Univ. Oklahoma Press, Norman. viii + 310 pp.
  8. Mettee, Maurice. F. "Scott" (Icthyologist, Geological Survey of Alabama). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, TNC. April 2000.
  9. Mettee, M. F., P. E. O'Neil, and J. M. Pierson. 1996. Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin. Oxmoor House, Birmingham, Alabama. 820 pp.
  10. Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
  11. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
  12. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
  13. Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
  14. Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
  15. Parenti, L. R. 1981. A phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of cyprinodontiform fishes (Teleostei, Atherinomorpha). Bulletin of the American Museum Natural History 168:335-557.
  16. Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
  17. Rogers, J. S., and R. C. Cashner. 1987. Genetic variation, divergence, and relationships in the subgenus <i>Xenisma </i>of the genus <i>Fundulus</i>. Pages 251-264 in W. J. Matthews, and D. C. Heins, editors. Community and evolutionary ecology of North American stream fishes. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
  18. Wiley, E.O. 1986. A study of the evolutionary relationships of <i>Fundulus</i> topminnows (Teleostei: Fundulidae). American Zoologist 26:121-130.