''Lucania'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of North American ray-finned
killifish
A killifish is any of various oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodontiform fish (including families Aplocheilidae, Cyprinodontidae, Fundulidae, Profundulidae and Valenciidae). All together, there are 1,270 species of killifish, the biggest family ...
es in the family
Fundulidae
Fundulidae is the family of topminnows and North American killifishes.
Distribution
The 46 species are native to North America as far south as Yucatan, and to the islands of Bermuda and Cuba, occurring in both freshwater and marine environments ...
. The genus can be found in northeastern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and the southeastern and eastern parts of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, with ''L. parva'' ranging as far north as
. They are mostly found in fresh water, although ''L. parva'' also is frequent in coastal
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
water. They are sometimes held in
aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
s.
They are small, up to in
total length
Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.
Overall length
* Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...
.
Species
There are currently three recognized species in this genus:
[
* '' Lucania goodei'' D. S. Jordan, 1880 (Bluefin killifish)
* '' Lucania interioris'' C. L. Hubbs & R. R. Miller, 1965 (Cuatrocienegas killifish)
* '' Lucania parva'' ( S. F. Baird & Girard, 1855) (Rainwater killifish)
]
References
Freshwater fish genera
Freshwater fish of Mexico
Freshwater fish of the United States
Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard
{{Cyprinodontiformes-stub