The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources published guides to many threatened animals living in the state.  This guide gives information about the Mummichog, including description, status, habitat, conservation challenges & recommendations, and measures of success

Waltz, C. Wayne

South Carolina State Documents Depository

Mummichog  
Fundulus heteroclitus 
Contributor:  Wayne Waltz 
 
DESCRIPTION 
 
Taxonomy and Basic Description 
 
The mummichog belongs to a group of 
fishes known as killifish, which are 
members of the family Cyprinodontidae. 
The mummichog was described by Linnaeus 
in 1766 as Corbitis heteroclita.  He soon 
after created a new name for the species, Fundulus heteroclitius, which remains as the accepted 
nomenclature today.  It is also thought that different “forms” of this species may exist.  For 
example, Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus is considered by some to be a northern form of 
the species that is distinguished from F. heteroclitius heteroclitius by egg structure and spawning 
behavior. The word “mummichog” comes from an Indian word meaning “going in crowds” and 
refers to its common schooling behavior.   
 
The mummichog is a sexually dimorphic fish.  Breeding males are easily distinguished from 
females by their more brilliant, intense pigmentation.  Males also display vertical stripes along 
the sides, which the females lack.  Females, in general, tend to be much paler than males.  Very 
small fish of both sexes show dark transverse bars on their sides, which are later lost.  This 
species can vary in shade based on background surroundings (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). 
 
The mummichog is an omnivore, feeding on plant matter, small crustaceans, small mollusks and 
fish.  Adults are reported to reach sizes as large as 17.8 cm (45 inches) with females growing 
larger than males.  The mummichog is oviparous.  Spawning takes place during the summer 
months during the new and full moon.  Eggs are sticky, about 2 mm (0.08 inch) in diameter and 
sink after being spawned.  Eggs then cling to the insides of mussel shells, oyster shells and on 
vegetation.  The eggs can develop out of water and typically hatch in 9 to 18 days after being 
submerged again in water during the following high tide.  At 20 mm (0.8 inch) the fry are fully 
developed and resemble adults (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). 
 
Status  
 
The mummichog is not a state or federally listed species; however, is an extremely important 
food source for many larger fish, wading and sea birds.  It is harvested commercially as bait and, 
because of its hardiness, is a favorite for biological experimentation and education.  The species 
is also used as indicator species in severely polluted systems and is sometimes the only species 
found in these areas. Significant levels of cancer and precancerous lesions have been found in the 
livers of small mummichogs.  Scientists have correlated these to high levels of PAH in the mud 
associated with wood preservative; creosote (The Elizabeth River Project). Mummichogs have 
been known to consume as many as 2000 mosquito larvae a day, and can be used as a natural 
mosquito control in ponds and ditches. 
 
Photo by Scott Taylor. 
http://www.frc.csmd.edu/bio/paulb/Research
 
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND SIZE   
 
Mummichogs occur from the Gulf of St. Lawrence along the Atlantic coast south to the Gulf 
coast of Texas.  The mummichog has reportedly been introduced into Hawaii, the Philippines, 
Portugal and Spain.  It was also introduced to ponds in New Hampshire via bait bucket release, 
and was later collected from the upper Ohio and Beaver River systems in far western 
Pennsylvania (Froese and Pauly 2004; Richart and Incze 2004; Fuller 2004) 
 
 The species is present year round in South Carolina and is abundant in state’s estuaries and tidal 
creeks. One of the earliest records of the mummichog in South Carolina was collected on 
January 11, 1891 from the Ashley River (Anonymous 2001). Very little scientific information 
exists on abundance and distribution; however it is assumed to be an abundant species. Cain and 
Dean (1976) sampled in a high salinity creek in South Carolina and found mummichogs as the 
most abundant (29.7 percent) species in their samples.   
 
HABITAT AND NATURAL COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS 
 
The mummichog is a benthopelagic, eurohaline species. They are commonly found in saltwater 
marshes, tidal creeks and in sheltered shores.  The fish’s upper salinity limit is reported to be 106 
to 120.3 parts per thousand (ppt) (Abraham 1985).  However, it is also reported that 
mummichogs living in Chesapeake Bay prefer to live in freshwater.  This is an extremely 
tolerant species that can survive at very low oxygen levels and in heavily polluted ecosystems.  It 
can also withstand temperatures as warm as 34oC (93°F) and temperature fluctuations from 6oC 
to 35oC (43°F to 95°F).  Because of the hardiness of the mummichog, no specific critical habitats 
have been established. During cold weather months, mummichogs burrow into the mud to depths 
up to 20.3 cm (8 inches) to avoid freezing temperatures.  In other cases they may move to deep 
channels (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). 
 
CHALLENGES 
 
In South Carolina, there is a small bait industry that targets mummichogs of which little is 
known.  A $10 license allows a person to fish unlimited minnow traps. As of December 31, 2004 
there had been 10 minnow trap licenses purchased for the 2005 fiscal year. Although it is 
doubtful that overfishing will become a problem, because of it’s gregarious nature, localized 
population may become depleted if heavily fished. The mummichog has also been widely used 
in toxicity studies and can serve as an indicator species for highly polluted systems. 
  
CONSERVATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS 
 
The mummichog bait industry is currently regulated through license sales in South Carolina. 
 
CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS 
 
• Examine the Mummichog bait fishery in South Carolina to collect fishery dependent data 
on catch and effort. 
• Examine ways to use mummichog as an indicator species for water quality in South 
Carolina.  
• Determine mummichog relative abundance and distribution in coastal waters 
• Examine for evidence of mummichog population trends including localized depletions 
related to harvesting for bait.  
 
MEASURES OF SUCCESS 
 
By implementing a monitoring protocol for mummichog in South Carolina, SCDNR will be able 
to infer water quality, which, in turn, will benefit all marine life. Another measurement of 
success would be to document whether localized depletions of mummichog occur, due to bait 
harvest. 
 
LITERATURE CITED OR REFERENCED 
 
Abraham, B.J. 1985. Species profile: Life Histories and Environmental requirements of Coastal 
fishes and Invertebrates:  Mummichog and Striped Killifish. Biological Reports. 82:1-14. 
 
Anonymous, 2001. Available: 
http://www.fishbase.org/Museum/FishOccurrences.cfm?catnum2=852433&genusname=
Fundulus&speciesname=heteroclitus%20heteroclitus. Accessed: December 16, 2004. 
 
Bigelow, H.B. and W.C. Schroeder. 1953.  Fishes of the Gulf of Maine.  Fish. Bull. 72(53) (On 
line).  Accessed December 16, 2004 at 
http://octopus.gma.org/fogm/Fundulus_heteroclitus.htm. 
 
Cain, R.L. and J.M. Dean. 1976.  Annual occurrence, abundance and diversity of fish in a South 
Carolina tidal creek. Marine Biology. 36:369-379. 
 
Froese, R. and D.P. Pauly. Editors 2004. FishBase.  World Wide Web electronic publication. 
wwwfishbase.org, version (10/2004).  Accessed December 16, 2004 at  
http://ichtyonb1.mnhn.fr/Country/CountryList.cfm/ID=3192. 
  
Fuller, P. 2004, Fundulus heteroclitus. Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database, Gainesville, 
FL.  Accessed December 16, 2004 at   
http://canal.er.usgs.gov/queries/SpFactSheet.asp/SpeciesID=688 Revision Date: 6/23/04 
 
Richart, E. and L. Incze. Census of marine life.  Gulf of Maine area program. (On line) Accessed 
December 16, 2004 at http://www.usm.maine.edu/gulfofmaine-
census/Docs/Reference/fishes_c04_8.htm. 
 
The Elizabeth River Project. Mummichog Update.  Tracking the health of the indicator species 
for Elizabeth’s bottom. (On line) Accessed December 16, 2004 at 
http://www.elizabethriver.org/Archives/mummichog_update.htm. 
 
 


Mummichog

https://dc.statelibrary.sc.gov/bitstream/10827/10960/1/DNR_Species_Mummichog_2005.pdf

Mummichog

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