Re: NANFA-- catenatus pic

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus_at_hotmail.com)
Mon, 01 Oct 2001 11:10:25 -0400

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>From: Roselawn Museum <roselawn_at_mindspring.com>
>Reply-To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
>To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
>Subject: Re: NANFA-- catenatus pic
>Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2001 11:00:29 -0400
>
>Thanks, guys, for the input. Other than the dreaded gambusia, F. stellifer
>is one of the most prevalent fish in my area. I have caught so many of them
>that when I do go to an area that has F. catenatus, the latter seems to
>bear a striking difference to me. The lone specimen we caught the other day
>was both small and female, so I'll await positive ID. However, when I
>scouted the same stream two weeks earlier I also caught one that day, and
>was convinced it was F. catenatus. I WAS surprised, as I was vaguely
>familiar with the range for that fish. While I have all the respect in the
>world for the experts that recorded these ranges, anomalies do pop up here
>and there.
Steven, my doubt was that the one fish we were debating is not full-grown
and likely female, not a good fish for IDing between similar species. If you
get more individuals from Salacoa Creek we can look at them for real; for
instance, stellifer has heavier pharyngeal teeth (grinding teeth) than
catenatus, something that is not obvious to field examination. I think that
Gordon County is too far north to be F. bifax, the third species in this
complex, which is also characterized by a much more regular stippling part
than the other two. We shall see...

--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL, US of A

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