Speckled Killifish

Fundulus rathbuni

Fundulidae · freshwater water fish

2 minute read · Species guide

Speckled Killifish field guide illustration

About Speckled Killifish

Speckled killifish inhabit quiet river and creek habitats in Virginia and North Carolina.

Natural history

FishBase lists the Dan, Neuse, Cape Fear, Peedee, and Catawba drainages, placing the species across several separate Atlantic-slope river systems. Adults generally use pools and backwaters over sand or mud rather than the most rapid portions of a channel.

The species is not an annual killifish. Its occurrence in sheltered stream water should therefore not be confused with the drought-linked life cycle of killifishes restricted to temporary pools. FishTraits records small animal prey and feeding both near the bottom and in the water column, suggesting use of several feeding positions within this habitat.

Sources: Fundulus rathbuni species summary; FishTraits: ecological and life-history traits

Guide sources

Research reviewed 2026-10-19.

Diet and feeding

The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: invertebrates or larval fish. 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.

The source records associations with muck, clay or silt, sand. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1.5 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 May, Jun for the source’s reporting region (NC). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

The reproductive-guild classification includes spawning on open substrates without guarding the brood.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 9.6 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 3 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.

Range

Where it lives

Share of 545 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.
0%
98.5%
Share of 545 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.

A blank area on the dot layer usually means nobody sampled there, not that the fish is absent. Turn on “every survey site” to see where the survey looked.

Share of records by state

The USGS stream survey caught it at 110 of its sites, in 2 states. That survey and the GBIF records are two different counts of two different things, so the site keeps them apart.

Habitat

Water and movement

Water
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Migration
Undetermined

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Superclass
Actinopterygii
Class
Teleostei
Order
Cyprinodontiformes
Genus
Fundulus
Species
Fundulus rathbuni
ITIS TSN
165665
WoRMS AphiaID
1019684
GBIF key
5203636

Common questions about Speckled Killifish

What is the scientific name of Speckled Killifish?
The scientific name is Fundulus rathbuni, in the family Fundulidae. Classification follows ITIS.
Does Speckled Killifish live in fresh water or salt water?
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Where has Speckled Killifish been recorded in the United States?
GBIF has observations in 2 states, with the most records in North Carolina, Virginia. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives

Other Fundulus species

Banded Killifish31 states
Fundulus diaphanusFundulidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish
Banded Topminnow5 states
Fundulus cingulatusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Barrens Topminnow1 states
Fundulus julisiaFundulidaeNativeFresh
Bayou Killifish6 states
Fundulus pulvereusFundulidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish
Blackspotted Topminnow17 states
Fundulus olivaceusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Blackstripe Topminnow20 states
Fundulus notatusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Broadstripe Topminnow2 states
Fundulus euryzonusFundulidaeNativeFresh
California Killifish1 states
Fundulus parvipinnisFundulidaeNativeSaltBrackish
Golden Topminnow14 states
Fundulus chrysotusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Gulf Killifish11 states
Fundulus grandisFundulidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish
Lined Topminnow8 states
Fundulus lineolatusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Longnose Killifish6 states
Fundulus similisFundulidaeNativeSalt
Marsh Killifish14 states
Fundulus confluentusFundulidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish
Mummichog22 states
Fundulus heteroclitusFundulidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish
Northern Starhead Topminnow16 states
Fundulus disparFundulidaeNativeFresh
Northern Studfish21 states
Fundulus catenatusFundulidaeNative and introducedFresh
Plains Killifish16 states
Fundulus zebrinusFundulidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish
Plains Topminnow11 states
Fundulus sciadicusFundulidaeNative and introducedFresh
Russetfin Topminnow3 states
Fundulus escambiaeFundulidaeNativeFresh
Saltmarsh Topminnow5 states
Fundulus jenkinsiFundulidaeNativeSaltBrackish
Seminole Killifish4 states
Fundulus seminolisFundulidaeNativeFresh
Southern Starhead Topminnow7 states
Fundulus blairaeFundulidaeNativeFresh
Spotfin Killifish12 states
Fundulus luciaeFundulidaeNativeSaltBrackish
Stippled Studfish1 states
Fundulus bifaxFundulidaeNativeFresh

Same family

More Fundulidae

Banded Killifish31 states
Fundulus diaphanusFundulidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish
Banded Topminnow5 states
Fundulus cingulatusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Barrens Topminnow1 states
Fundulus julisiaFundulidaeNativeFresh
Bayou Killifish6 states
Fundulus pulvereusFundulidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish
Blackspotted Topminnow17 states
Fundulus olivaceusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Blackstripe Topminnow20 states
Fundulus notatusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Blue-fintop Minnow7 states
Lucania goodeiFundulidaeNativeFresh
Broadstripe Topminnow2 states
Fundulus euryzonusFundulidaeNativeFresh
California Killifish1 states
Fundulus parvipinnisFundulidaeNativeSaltBrackish
Diamond Killifish5 states
Adinia xenicaFundulidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish
Golden Topminnow14 states
Fundulus chrysotusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Gulf Killifish11 states
Fundulus grandisFundulidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish
Lined Topminnow8 states
Fundulus lineolatusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Longnose Killifish6 states
Fundulus similisFundulidaeNativeSalt
Marsh Killifish14 states
Fundulus confluentusFundulidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish
Mummichog22 states
Fundulus heteroclitusFundulidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish
Northern Starhead Topminnow16 states
Fundulus disparFundulidaeNativeFresh
Northern Studfish21 states
Fundulus catenatusFundulidaeNative and introducedFresh
Plains Killifish16 states
Fundulus zebrinusFundulidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish
Plains Topminnow11 states
Fundulus sciadicusFundulidaeNative and introducedFresh
Pygmy Killifish5 states
Leptolucania ommataFundulidaeNativeFresh
Rainwater Killifish20 states
Lucania parvaFundulidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish
Russetfin Topminnow3 states
Fundulus escambiaeFundulidaeNativeFresh
Saltmarsh Topminnow5 states
Fundulus jenkinsiFundulidaeNativeSaltBrackish

All 32 species in Fundulidae