Zebrinus Serendipity
By Howie Galoff in collaboration with Guy Bagley

Commonly known as the "Plains Killifish" (undoubtedly referring to its native habitat - the Great Plains), we acquired a North American native killifish at the 2003 AKA National Convention that is anything but plain. Entered as Plancterus zebrinus ‘Double Mountain Fork Brazos River Rule, TX,’ most people would probably be more familiar with the nomenclature: Fundulus zebrinus. While researching this article, I discovered that ‘plancterus’ is/was a subgenus of ‘fundulus’ but I was unable to ascertain if it has been elevated to full genus status by taxonomists or if the entrant was simply providing specific taxonomic information.

This fish is found in Montana and South Dakota, eastward to Missouri, and in Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. It inhabits shallow streams, usually over a gravel or sand substrate, and tolerates extreme alkalinity and salinity where few other fishes can survive. It inhabits the drainage systems of the Brazos, Colorado, Trinity, Rio Grande del Norte, Pecos, Missiouri and Platte Rivers, but was not native to all these locations - having been introduced from bait bucket releases or accidentally stocked as contaminants with other species. The fish is reported to bury itself in sand with only its eyes and mouth visible. This behavior may protect the fish fro ...