California killifish
Fundulus parvipinnis Girard, 1854
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) is a type of killifish (Fundulidae) found along the coast of southern California and the Baja California Peninsula. Like the other members of the family, California killifish are small, no more than about 11 centimetres (4.3 in) in length. The body is rather thick and oblong in shape, with almost no narrowing of the caudal peduncle, and a squarish tail fin. The pelvic fins are small, while the anal fin is long, with 11 to 13 rays. They are olive-green above, and a yellowish brown below; during breeding season, the back become dark brown, while the belly and paired fins become bright yellow. They are coastal fish, occurring in shallow bays, estuaries, marshes, and the lower parts of streams from Morro Bay south to Magdalena Bay in central Baja California Sur. Between Goleta Slough and the Tijuana River they occur almost continuously, the frequency of wetlands being sufficient to allow free movement. They tolerate a wide range of salinities, oxygen levels, and pollution.
Wikipedia contributors, California killifish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:46:42.983176+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Fundulus parvipinnis Girard, 1854
- Name authority
- Girard, 1854
- Common name
- California killifish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cyprinodontiformes
- Family
- Fundulidae
- Genus
- Fundulus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCyprinodontiformes
- familyFundulidae Günther, 1866
- genusFundulus Lacepède, 1803
- speciesFundulus parvipinnis Girard, 1854
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Fundulus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fundulus albolineatus Gilbert, 1891 | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| giant killifishFundulus grandissimus Hubbs, 1936 | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| marsh killifishFundulus confluentus Goode & Bean, 1879 | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fundulus kansae Garman, 1895 | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fundulus lineolatus (Agassiz, 1854) | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fundulus olivaceus (Storer, 1845) | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fundulus notatus (Rafinesque, 1820) | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| saltmarsh topminnowFundulus jenkinsi (Evermann, 1892) | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| plains killifishFundulus zebrinus Jordan & Gilbert, 1883 | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fundulus blairae Wiley & Hall, 1975 | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| golden topminnowFundulus chrysotus (Günther, 1866) | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fundulus nottii (Agassiz, 1854) | FundulidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Fundulus brevis Osburn & Nichols, 1916 Osburn & Nichols, 1916 | synonym |
| Fundulus parvipinnis brevis Osburn & Nichols, 1916 Osburn & Nichols, 1916 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Girard, C. F. (1854). Observations upon a collection of fishes made on the Pacific coast of the United States, by Lieut. W. P. Trowbridge, U. S. A., for the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 7: 142–156. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6JRFL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.