Re: NANFA-- East tx 8-31-02 (not too long)

John Bongiovanni (bongi_at_cox-internet.com)
Tue, 3 Sep 2002 12:10:40 -0500

I checked the Texas state fish checklist( http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/research/chcklist.htm )and it is not on there. I have sent an e-mail to Gary Garrett of Texas Parks and Wildlife to see if he can comment on it exclusion, i.e. is it a simple ommission or its status as a species is not recognized. I guess it all boils down to whether you are a splitter or a grouper! Hope to hear soon.

John
>
> From: "Bruce Stallsmith" <fundulus_at_hotmail.com>
> Date: 2002/09/03 Tue AM 10:36:27 CDT
> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Subject: Re: NANFA-- East tx 8-31-02 (not too long)
>
> >--- Bruce Stallsmith <fundulus_at_hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > >was pulled taut. With the weighted end as the leading edge we
> > > skimmed
> > > >the net along the tops of the plants. Using this technique we
> > > collected
> > > >F. blairae, F. chrysotus, F. notatus and G. affinis.
> > >
> > > It's funny, what struck me was that I think you're the first
> > > collecting
> > > report on this list to mention F. blairae as a find. I'm impressed!
> >
> >What's special about this fish? New name, new sub-species, ??
> >
> >Sajjad
>
> Fundulus blairae, the southern starhead topminnow, is a member of the F.
> notti species group that contains 4 or 5 species, depending on who you ask
> (notti, blairae, escambiae, lineolatus and dispar). Researchers (Cashner et
> al., 1992) have found no significant genetic differences between blairae and
> dispar, so many ichthyologists would argue that the two species are really
> just dispar.
>
> Aside from that, blairae, like dispar, is usually found in quiet backwaters
> among vegetation over a soft muddy bottom. This makes it hard to easily
> collect in most cases. The only dispar I've ever seen I collected via
> electroshocking from a canoe with Dave Neely. The sediments in this
> backwater of the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa County, AL, were nearly
> bottomless from what I could tell... We also collected some really honking
> bowfins that day.
>
> --Bruce Stallsmith
> Huntsville, AL, US of A
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