Elongated body that tapers to a truncate tail. Long snout with a forward-facing mouth. Upper half of the body may appear olive-green, silver-green, or silver-bronze/tan. Females: Sides of the body may have both oblique and horizontally oriented dark stripes with narrow vertical dark bars at the base of the tail. Males; the sides of the body only exhibit dark vertical bars; may have dark spot dorsal fin
Average Maximum Size:
10 cm ( 4 in)
Adults Distinguishing Characteristics:
The Striped Killifish can be distinguished from Gulf Killifish and Mummichog by the presence of distinct dark horizontal (female) or vertical (male) body stripes rather than a speckled body pattern with faded bars. The snout of both female and male Striped Killifish is notably more elongated than the relatively short snout of the Gulf Killifish and Mummichog.
Juveniles Distinguishing Characteristics:
Juvenile male striped killifish exhibit the markings similar to those of adult males. Juvenile female striped killifish may appear similar to males with vertical stripes.
Range:
New Hampshire to northern Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat:
Shallow coastal salt and brackish waters. They reside in bays, estuaries, and tidal marshes; also along beaches
