Fundulus cryptocatenatus Fast, Hundt, Alley, and Sandel 2025, New Species
Creators: name: Fast, Kayla M.
name: Hundt, Peter J.
name: Alley, Zachariah D.
name: Sandel, Michael W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Cyprinodontiformes
Fundulidae
Fundulus
Fundulus cryptocatenatus

description: Fundulus cryptocatenatus, Fast, Hundt, Alley, and Sandel, New Species
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 225A8354-4F7C-42EA-A50A-5189BF9B5A0D
Disjunct Studfish
Figs 6–7
Holotype. JFBM 50604 (1 alc.; female), from JFBM 39482, North Fork White River at State Road CC, 5 miles E of Dora, 36.752833, -92.151250, Ozark Co., Missouri, U.S.A., 26 May 2002.
Paratopotype. JFBM 39482 (4 alc.), North Fork White River at State Road CC, 5 miles E of Dora, 36.752833, -92.151250, Ozark Co., Missouri, U.S.A., 26 May 2002.
Paratypes. CUMV 72258 (24 alc.), Amite River at LA 10 crossing, 4 mi. W of Darlington on LA Hwy 10, 30.8894, -90.8459, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, U.S.A., 23 March 1990. CUMV 72387 (11 alc.), Amite River at LA 432, 1 mi. E Felixville on LA Hwy 432, 30.945697, -90.859763, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, U.S.A., 23 March 1990. CUMV 37589 (26 alc.), Homochitto River on MS 550, E of Union Church, 31.6699, -90.7187, Lincoln Co., Mississippi, U.S.A., 4 April 1961. JFBM 30456 (5 alc.), Kings River at U.S. Highway 62, 20 miles E of Eureka Springs, 36.3942, -93.63613, Carroll Co., Arkansas, U.S.A., 2 May 1999. JFBM 30501 (6 alc.), Richland Creek, 25 miles upstream of County Road 79, 10.5 miles E of Fayetteville, 36.04688, -93.9719, Washington Co., Arkansas, U.S.A., 1 May 1999. JFBM 37968 (3 alc.), Strawberry River at U.S. Highway 167, 2 miles N of Evening Shade, 36.09896, -91.60879, Sharp Co., Arkansas, U.S.A., 27 May 2001. JFBM 40015 (5 alc.), Current River along sandbar at “Current View”, a local name, Clay Co., Arkansas, U.S.A., 27 May 2002. 36.49321, -90.78024 Clay Co., Arkansas, U.S.A., 27 May 2002. JFBM 34874 (4 alc.), Sugar Creek at County Road 700N, 39.62433, -85.9299, Shelby Co., Indiana, U.S.A., 28 October 1999. JFBM 37773 (4 alc., 1 c.s.), Leatherwood Creek at County Road 700 N, 39.58276, -85.98431, Johnson Co., Indiana, U.S.A., 28 October 1999. JFBM 37659 (4 alc.), Trammel Fork at Old State Road, 1 mile NW of Red Hill, 36.752224, -86.2874985, Allen Co., Kentucky, U.S.A., 22 August 1999. JFBM 38260 (1 alc.), Otter Creek at State Road 1009, 1 mile N of Powersburg, 36.7130611 -84.9615444, Wayne Co., Kentucky, U.S.A., 27 June 2001. JFBM 45263 (30 alc.), Falling Timber Creek at State Highway 90, ca. 7.5 miles SE of Glasgow, 36.9241667, -85.8052778, Barren Co., Kentucky, U.S.A., 21 June 2007. JFBM 35849 (8 alc.), East fork of Amite River at MS Highway 584, about 6 miles SE of Liberty, 31.09844, -90.71954, Amite Co., Mississippi, U.S.A., 31 July 2000. JFBM 37334 (12 alc.), Homochitto River at MS Highway 550, 4 miles NE of Union Church, 31.6630554, -90.7205582 Lincoln Co., Mississippi, U.S.A., 31 July 2000. JFBM 40928 (8 alc.), Big Piney River at Highway 17, 3 miles W of Houston (Dog’s Bluff access), 37.32661, -92.00334, Texas Co., Missouri, U.S.A., 26 May 2002. JFBM 41794 (11 alc.), Elk River at County Road H, 3.2 miles NE of Noel, 36.56805, -94.42557, McDonald Co., Missouri, U.S.A., 29 May 2003. JFBM 48546 (5 alc. 95%), Big River at Bootleg Access, 10 miles South of Potosi, 37.81263, -90.77162, Washington Co., Missouri., U.S.A., 3 October 1999. JFBM 48544 (7 alc. 95%), Huzzah Creek, at Saint Louis University’s Reis Biological Station, 37.9477778, -91.1775, Crawford Co., Missouri, U.S.A., 2 October 1999. JFBM 48547 (5 alc. 95%), Black River at Lesterville access off Peola Road, Missouri Department of Conservation access, 37.429, -90.82475, Reynolds Co., Missouri, U.S.A., 3 October 1999. JFBM 38200 (5 alc.), Hurricane Creek at State Road 87 (Clementsville Rd), 1.5 miles E of Cherry crossroads, 36.5977783, -85.7069473, Clay Co., Tennessee, U.S.A., 27 June 2001. JFBM 40569 (8 alc.), Turnbull Creek at Kingston Springs Road, 0.6 miles W of Kingston Road, 36.1012, -87.1263, Cheatham Co., Tennessee, U.S.A., 27 July 2002. JFBM 40993 (14 alc.), East Fork Stones River at US Highway 231, Walter Hill Dam, 10.5 mi N of Murfreesboro, 35.9416, -86.37674, Rutherford Co., Tennessee, U.S.A., 26 July 2002. UAIC 10247.17 (11 alc.), Current River, 0.5 mi S of “Current View” off Ripley Co. Rd. E, just S of Missouri State line, 36.4939, -90.78, Clay Co., Arkansas, U.S.A., 10 May 1991. UAIC 10096.11 (17 alc.), Big Piney River at MO Hwy 17 at Dog’s Bluff Access, ca. 3 mi W of Houston, 37.32666, -92.0033, Texas Co., Missouri, U.S.A., 13 May 1991. UAIC 11582.11 (13 alc.), East Fork Stones River at TN Hwy 96, 1 mi SW of Lascassas, Rutherford Co., Tennessee, U.S.A., 5 December 1996.
Diagnosis. Distinguished from other members in the complex as a distinct lineage as determined by molecular phylogenetic and population genomic evidence (Hundt et al. 2016, this study) and by its limited distribution (Figure 5B).
Description. Same as Fundulus catenatus. Meristic characters as follows: dorsal rays 13–17 (modally 15), anal rays 13–18 (modally 16), left pectoral rays 14–19 (modally 17), caudal rays 15–18 (modally 16), lateral scale rows 11–16 (modally 14), lateral scales 38–52 (modally 42) (Table 1; Thomerson et al. 1969).
Distribution. In the Ozark Highlands, this species is native to tributaries of the Missouri River, direct tributaries to the Mississippi River, the upper Arkansas River, and the Black and White River drainages. In the Eastern Highlands, the species is known in the Cumberland and Green River drainages; in southwest Mississippi, tributaries of the Homochitto and Amite Rivers; and in Indiana, small tributaries to the East Fork White River.
Etymology. The common name, Disjunct Studfish, refers to the disjunct distribution of the species. Particularly emphasizing that this species is the most widely distributed of the studfishes. The word cryptocatenatus is from the Greek kruptos for hidden and the species name catenatus to indicate that this is a cryptic species, morphologically similar to F. catenatus.
description: Published as part of Fast, Kayla M., Hundt, Peter J., Alley, Zachariah D. & Sandel, Michael W., 2025, Phylogenomic species delimitation of studfishes (Fundulidae: Fundulus): evidence for cryptic species in agreement with the Central Highlands vicariance hypothesis, pp. 309-328 in Zootaxa 5604 (3) on pages 319-321, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5604.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/15035916