How to Use killifish in a Sentence

killifish

noun
  • And the killifish is not the only species to have managed this feat.
    — Cal Flyn, WSJ, 3 June 2021
  • For instance, the African killifish lives a fleeting life, expiring just a few months after birth.
    — Erica Tennenhouse, Discover Magazine, 8 Aug. 2018
  • Live mullet or killifish are by far the best bait but a jig tipped with shrimp and worked slowly along bottom also catches some of these tasty flatfish.
    — Frank Sargeant, al, 15 Nov. 2019
  • The fish there survive levels of pollution up to 8,000 times the lethal dose for most killifish.
    — National Geographic, 8 Dec. 2016
  • No new species of non-native fish were turned in, but some unusual catches included pacu, pike killifish and brown hoplo.
    — Jan Engoren, Sun-Sentinel.com, 10 May 2017
  • The smaller reds readily take live shrimp and killifish minnows, while the lunkers prefer finger mullet, grunts and pinfish.
    — Frank Sargeant, al, 1 Nov. 2019
  • The researchers sequenced the entire genomes of these fish and compared them to the genomes of killifish in unpolluted waters nearby each site.
    — National Geographic, 8 Dec. 2016
  • Some guppies live in havens that are largely predator-free except for the killifish, a small fish that only takes the smallest juvenile guppies.
    — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2010
  • So the parasite creates cysts on its host’s brain, causing the hapless killifish to splash around on the surface of the water and flash its shiny belly, baiting the birds.
    — Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 28 Apr. 2022
  • Baitfish traps are easy to use, and are very effective at collecting some small baitfish, including pinfish, killifish, and mud or bull minnows.
    — Bob McNally, Field & Stream, 2 Jan. 2020
  • And several studies published in the past 3 years suggest the eyes of killifish and water fleas vary in size depending on the presence of predators.
    — Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, 27 Oct. 2020
  • For about 5 to 6 months, this killifish, roughly the size of a thumb, puts most of its embryo’s critical body processes—including muscle and nerve cell growth—on hold.
    — Joel Goldberg, Science | AAAS, 20 Feb. 2020
  • The winners in a rapidly changing world will likely be creatures, like the killifish, who are numerous and genetically diverse.
    — Cal Flyn, WSJ, 3 June 2021
  • Take the trematode preying on the California killifish, a normally secretive bait fish that hangs out in western salt marshes.
    — Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2020
  • Silva further tells Marconi that killifish eggs deposited in dry soil can survive until rain replenishes their habitat.
    — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, 18 June 2019
  • For the first time in 10 years, researchers have discovered a new species of Xenurolebias killifish from an isolated swamp about 2 feet deep in eastern Brazil.
    — Lauren Liebhaber september 23, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Meanwhile, golden topminnows and killifish shelter in the shadows hoping to avoid bass and bream lurking in the underwater forest created by the tall stalks and flower stems.
    — Ben Raines | [email protected], AL.com, 30 Aug. 2017
  • The flatworm begins its life in a snail, then moves into a California killifish, then to its final destination in the gut of a predatory water bird, such as a heron or egret.
    — Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 28 Apr. 2022
  • But a 2019 study found that the intrepid eggs of the killifish, which can enter a kind of hibernation to survive dry spells buried in sand and soil, were able to survive a trip through both ends of a swan.
    — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2020
  • As their name suggests, annual killifish appear for a brief period of the year in floodplains, wetlands, swamps and other temporary aquatic environments.
    — Lauren Liebhaber september 23, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
  • This lucky population of killifish is probably an outlier, however.
    — Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2021
  • Beneath its dull green surface teems a population of Atlantic killifish, a silvery topminnow that's common along the Eastern Seaboard.
    — Wired, 23 Sep. 2019
  • This video compares the embryos and life spans of killifish who either experienced or skipped diapause, capturing time-lapses and detailed snapshots of their embryonic development.
    — Joel Goldberg, Science | AAAS, 20 Feb. 2020
  • So far, Hector’s killifish has been found at over a dozen sites in Chiapas, a state of southern Mexico bordering Guatemala and the Pacific Ocean.
    — Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Take, for example, a population of Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus).
    — Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'killifish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: