Striped Killifish

Fascinating facts about the Striped Killifish

• From New Hampshire down to Florida and into the northern Gulf of Mexico, the striped killifish lives in shallow salt- and brackish-water habitats.
• Males flash bold vertical black stripes while mature females wear horizontal ones on their silver backs; even young females start with vertical stripes, and an adult female always keeps one or two vertical marks at the tip of her tail.
• These little fish grow up to 6 in (15 cm), with occasional individuals reaching 7 in (18 cm).
• When a tide pool drains, the fish can sense the loss within three minutes, gather on the ocean-facing side, and in groups of roughly twelve launch themselves across sand bars as wide as 12 ft and as tall as six inches, flopping straight toward the sea.

At a glance

About the Striped Killifish

The striped killifish (Fundulus majalis) glides through the shallow, brackish waters of the Atlantic coast from New Hampshire to Florida and into the northern Gulf of Mexico, its silver body marked by a striking pattern of black stripes. Males flaunt bold vertical bars, while mature females display horizontal stripes along their sides; juvenile females retain the vertical design, and even adult females keep one or two vertical marks at the tail’s edge. Growing to about six inches (15 cm) and occasionally reaching seven inches (18 cm), these modest fish blend camouflage with a flash of contrast that signals both sex and maturity. Beyond their everyday foraging, striped killifish exhibit an astonishing tide-pool survival strategy recorded in February 1916 by Professor S. O. Mast of Johns Hopkins University. When a tide pool began to drain, the fish would instinctively swim toward the ocean, and if the water’s exit closed, they would abandon the water entirely, flopping across sand bars up to twelve feet wide and six inches tall. In coordinated groups of about twelve, they left the pool on the side nearest the sea, moving straight toward it rather than wandering randomly.

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