Saltmarsh Topminnow (Fundulus jenkinsi)

Saltmarsh Topminnow: Photo credit Fish and Florida Wildlife Commission

 

Key Information 

          

The saltmarsh topminnow was identified as a Candidate Species in 1991 (56 FR 26797) and transferred to the Species of Concern list on April 15, 2004 (69 FR 19975).

Brief Species Description

The saltmarsh topminnow is endemic to brackish water areas from Galveston Bay, Texas, to Escambia in the western panhandle of Florida.  They live in estuaries, coastal marshes, and back water sloughs, including todal meanders of Spartina marshes.  It is one of the smallest members of the topminnow/killfish family (Fundulidae), seldom exceeding 1.75 in (4.45 cm) in length.  The saltmarsh topminnow has little color, with cross-hatchings on its back and sides that may be gray-green or fainter, and 12 to 30 dark, round spots are often arranged in rows along the mid-side of the body from above the pectoral fin to the base of the caudal fin.  For more information, please see the species fact sheet below.

Listing Information

On September 3, 2010, WildEarth Guardians petitioned NMFS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife to list the Saltmarsh topminnow as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. 

NMFS must make a 90-day finding, within 90 days of receipt, as to whether the petition presents substantial information that the petitioned action may be warranted.

• Should NMFS make a positive 90-day finding, a status review will likely be conducted.

Status Review

In 2006, the Species of Concern Grant Program funded 5 years of research to develop a region-wide conservation plan for the saltmarsh minnow by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

Area of Concern / SOC Range

Western Atlantic: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida

Saltmarsh Topminnow SOC Range Map

Species Fact Sheet

• Detailed

• Highlighted

Supplemental Information

Peterson, M. at el. (2003). Status and Habitat Characteristics of the Saltmarsh Topminnow Fundulus Jenkinsi (Evermann) in Eastern Mississippi and Western Alabama Coastal Bayous. Gulf and Caribbean Research.

Estuaries.gov

FishBase.org

 

Conservation Designations

• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): Not Evaluated

• American Fisheries Society (AFS): Threatened in FL, Vulnerable elsewhere

• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Species of Greatest Conservation Need: FL, LA, and MS