Video: Fish Hatching from Eggs, Filmed under a Microscope

In the video below, we witness four Gulf killifish hatching enthusiastically in real time from under the microscope. Gulf killifish, or Fundulus grandis, are a popular test species among scientists, specifically to study the effects of oil and oil dispersants on marine physiology and how the extraction of natural resources from our waters affects wildlife, especially in worst-case-scenarios such as oil spills.

Gulf killifish grow to only about three or four inches in length at full maturity. Luckily, they benefit us humans mostly because of their habit of feeding on mosquito larvae and pups, helping to reduce the mosquito population in marshes and wetlands. According to people who posted the video below, “[Gulf killifish] lay their eggs on marsh grasses at a full moon high tide and then 30 days later when the next full moon high tide comes they get wet and hatch.”

httpv://youtu.be/T3SUvDmIYhw

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