top·min·now

(tŏp′mĭn′ō)

1. Any of various small fishes of the family Fundulidae of North America, Bermuda, and Cuba, found in fresh, brackish, and coastal marine waters.

2. Any of several similar fishes of the family Poeciliidae.

[So called because the fish swim near the surface of the water.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

topminnow

(ˈtɒpˌmɪnəʊ)

n, pl -now or -nows

(Animals) any of various small American freshwater cyprinodont fishes that are either viviparous (genera Heterandria, Gambusia, etc) or egg-laying (genus Fundulus)

[from top¹ + minnow; so called because they are small and swim near the surface of the water]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

top•min•now

(ˈtɒpˌmɪn oʊ)

n., pl. (esp. collectively) -now, (esp. for kinds or species) -nows.

any of various small carplike fishes that swim near the surface of fresh or brackish waters in warm climates, as certain killifishes and livebearers: eaters of mosquito larvae.

[1880–85]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	topminnow - small usually brightly-colored viviparous surface-feeding fishes of fresh or brackish warm waters; often used in mosquito control live-bearer, poeciliid, poeciliid fish cypriniform fish - a soft-finned fish of the order Cypriniformes family Poeciliidae, Poeciliidae - topminnows Gambusia affinis, mosquitofish - silvery topminnow with rows of black spots of tropical North America and West Indies; important in mosquito control platy, Platypoecilus maculatus - small stocky Mexican fish; popular aquarium fish mollie, molly - popular aquarium fish
	2.	topminnow - freshwater fish of Central America having a long swordlike tail; popular aquarium fish helleri, swordtail, Xyphophorus helleri cyprinodont - any member of the family Cyprinodontidae genus Xyphophorus, Xyphophorus - swordtails

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References in periodicals archive

There were 33 species common to both stream types, with Flier (Centrarchus macropterus), Chestnut Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon castaneus), and Blackspot Shiner (Notropis atrocaudalis) found only in river tributaries, and Harlequin Darter (Etheostoma histrio), Golden Topminnow (Fundulus chrysotus), Brook Silverside (Labidesthes sicculus), Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops), and White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis) captured only in reservoir tributaries.

Fish Assemblage Response to Altered Dendritic Connectivity in the Red River Basin, Central Louisiana

At least seven fish species were identified by the Shedd Aquarium scientists on the Sanfilippo property Wednesday: largemouth bass, green sunfish, bluegill, blunt nose minnow, blackstripe topminnow, yellow bullhead and creek chub.

A true fishing expedition

Conservation genetics of the endangered barrens topminnow. Alexis Harman*, Natalie Ellis* and Carla Hurt, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee.

Abstracts of presentations at the 2016 (126th) Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Science

Once among the most abundant fishes in the Salt and Gila River drainages of Arizona, the Gila topminnow, Poeciliopsis occidentalis occidentalis, has undergone widespread decline and extirpation throughout much of its range due to habitat degradation and the introduction of nonnative fish species (Meffe et al., 1983; Minckley, 1999).

Description of a previously unknown population of an endangered desert fish, poeciliopsis occidentalis occidentalis

promelas), Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), White Sucker (Catostomus commersonii), Black Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus natalis), Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus), Tadpole Madtom (Noturus gyrinus), Green Sunfish, Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and Longear Sunfish (L.

Results of the 2014 Eagle Marsh biodiversity survey, Allen County, Indiana

Fitness differences among remnant populations of the Sonoran topminnow, Poeciliopsis occidentalis.

Population genetic structure of moose (Alces alces) of South-Central Alaska

The state-threatened northern Starhead Topminnow (Fundulus dispar), which is found within similar habitats (e.g., clear, well-vegetated floodplain lakes) and has a similar distribution in Illinois as L.

Distribution and status of the state-endangered redspotted sunfish Lepomis miniatus in Illinois

In 1989 Paul Skelton, Dale Kenmuir and I surprisingly found weed-loving UZ fishes, the dwarf citharine, copper-striped barb, spot-tail barb, upjaw barb and meshscaled topminnow, all caught by hand-net in the vicinity of Olive Beadle and Msuna camps at the western extremes of the lake.

Upper Zambezi fish surviving passage through the Victoria Falls

Life history and ecology of the barrens topminnow, Fundulus julisia Willians and Etnier (Pisces, Fundulidae).

Seasonal diet composition of Fundulus lima (Cyprinodontiformes: Fundulidae) in two oasis systems of Baja California Sur, Mexico

One of these, the plains topminnow (Fundulus sciadicus) (Lee et al.

The ringed crayfish, Orconectes neglectus neglectus, in Nebraska with a revision of its distributional range

Twenty species are federally threatened or endangered including the jaguar, ocelot, Mexican wolf, jaguaramundi, coatimundi, thick-billed parrot, Mexican spotted owl, aplomado and peregrine falcon, bald eagle, long-nosed bat, Yaqui chub, Yaqui topminnow, and Beautiful shiner.

Exploring net benefit maximization: conservation easements and the public-private interface