While there has been increasing recognition of menhaden as “the most important fish in the sea,” I offer, with somewhat less lofty ambitions, that the mummichog is the most important fish in the salt marsh.

Others refer to these fish as “minnows” or “killifishes,” but mummichog is the official name. These small fish are distinctly colored with the males having brighter hues, at least during the spawning season, then the drab green females.