Geographic distribution
The Seminole killifish ranges throughout much of peninsular Florida from the St. Johns and New river drainages south to the Everglades.
Biology
The Seminole killifish occurs in open areas of lakes and quiet pools in streams. The juveniles are usually encountered in schools in the vicinity of vegetation.
Taxonomy and name
Fundulus seminolis was described by Charles Frédéric Girard in 1859 with the type locality given as Palatka in eastern Florida. The specific name probably alludes to the Seminole people who are indigenous to southern Florida where this species is endemic.
Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Seminole killifish (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
Diet and feeding
The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: invertebrates or larval fish; fish or frog eggs. These are broad categories, not a claim that every individual consumes every example in a category.
Reported feeding positions include bottom feeding and surface or water-column feeding. The compilation combines published observations; diets can vary with age, locality, and available food.
Habitat preferences
Reported habitat associations include streams and small rivers, creeks, still-water habitats, springs or subterranean waters.
The source records associations with muck, clay or silt, sand, vegetation. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.
Reproduction and parental care
The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1 years. Its maturity field summarizes mean, median, or modal estimates, usually for females; male estimates can be used when female data are unavailable. It is not a fixed age at which every fish first breeds.
Batch or serial spawning has been reported somewhere in the species’ range. This does not establish the same spawning pattern for every population.
Recorded spawning months are Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug for the source’s reporting region (FL). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.
The reproductive-guild classification includes guarding eggs or young at a spawning substrate or nest.
Size and recorded longevity
FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 16 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.
Recorded longevity in the compilation is 2.5 years. Wild observations were preferred, but captive records were accepted where wild records were unavailable, and unspecified records were assumed wild. The value is not a guaranteed wild lifespan or an aquarium life expectancy.
Native range
Peninsular Florida from St. Johns drainage on the Atlantic to New drainage in the Gulf, south to just below Lake Okeechobee (Page and Burr 2011).
Introduction history
Possible bait bucket release.
