Banded topminnow

The banded topminnow (Fundulus cingulatus) is a North American species of temperate freshwater killifish belonging to the genus Fundulus of the family Fundulidae.^[3]

Banded topminnow
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cyprinodontiformes
Family:	Fundulidae
Genus:	Fundulus
Species:	F. cingulatus
Binomial name
Fundulus cingulatus (Valenciennes, 1846)
Synonyms[2]
Micristius cingulatus (Valenciennes, 1846) Zygonectes cingulatus (Valenciennes, 1846) Fundulus zonatus (Valenciennes, 1846) Zygonectes craticula (Goode & T. H. Bean, 1882) Fundulus craticula (Goode & T. H. Bean, 1882) Zygonectes auroguttatus (O. P. Hay, 1885) Fundulus auroguttatus (O. P. Hay, 1885) Zygonectes zonifer (D. S. Jordan & S. E. Meek, 1885) Fundulus zonifer (D. S. Jordan & S. E. Meek, 1885)

Taxonomy

The genus name Fundulus comes from fundus, meaning bottom, from the fish's habit of swimming near muddy bottoms. The species name cingulatus, also derived from Latin means "girded".^[4] The banded topminow was first described by American zoologist Achille Valenciennes in 1846, when it was sighted near Charleston, South Carolina.^[5]

The common name, "banded topminnow", refers to the distinct olive-green bandings found along their sides.^[6]