Fishes
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Noturus mayden
Description
The Black River madtom occurs only in the Black and St. Francis rivers of the Ozarks of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. The back and fins are distinctly mottled with dark blotches and bars.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Noturus albater
Description
The Ozark madtom occurs only in the White River system of the Ozarks of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. The back and fins are distinctly mottled with dark blotches and bars.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Noturus flavater
Description
The checkered madtom is a small catfish prominently marked with four dark saddle marks and a bold dark bar at the base of the tail fin. It occurs in the southern Ozarks.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Noturus nocturnus
Description
The freckled madtom looks similar to the tadpole madtom and shares much of its range, but its upper jaw projects beyond the lower jaw, and the underside of the head and body are sprinkled with dark speckles.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Noturus flavus
Description
The stonecat is the most common madtom in the large streams in the northern Ozarks and Prairie region. Its body and fins are nearly plain, its upper jaw projects beyond the lower jaw, and its lower lip and chin lack dark pigment.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Noturus gyrinus
Description
The tadpole madtom occurs in the Bootheel lowlands and in a broad zone from southwest Missouri to northeast Missouri. This small, chubby catfish is most common in the Bootheel lowlands and in northeastern Missouri.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Etheostoma, Percina, Ammocrypta, and Crystallaria spp.
Description
Darters have been described as the hummingbirds of the fish world: colorful, small, and quick. Missouri has about 44 different types of darters. They are most diverse in the fast, clear, rocky streams of the Ozarks.
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Scientific Name
Crystallaria asprella
Description
The crystal darter is Endangered in Missouri. Formerly known from many river drainages in the east-central and southeastern parts of our state, this pale, very slender darter apparently now lives only in the Gasconade and Black rivers.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Etheostoma histrio
Description
In Missouri, the harlequin darter occurs only in our southeastern lowlands, in flowing streams and ditches with sandy bottoms. It is State Endangered because its small numbers and limited range make it vulnerable to extirpation.
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Scientific Name
Etheostoma blennioides
Description
The greenside darter is one of our largest darters. It has olive to yellow sides and back with scattered red spots and vertical blotches often arranged in a V or W pattern. It is one of the most abundant and widespread darters in the Ozarks.
See Also
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Amphiuma tridactylum
Description
The three-toed amphiuma is an eel-like, completely aquatic salamander. It has very small fore- and hind limbs, each with three very small toes. In Missouri it’s found only in the Bootheel region.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Siren intermedia nettingi
Description
The western lesser siren is an eel-like, aquatic salamander with external gills, small eyes, small forelimbs with four toes, and no hind limbs. In Missouri, it’s found mostly in the Bootheel and northward in counties near the Mississippi River.
About Fishes in Missouri
Missouri has more than 200 kinds of fish, more than are found in most neighboring states. Fishes live in water, breathe with gills, and have fins instead of legs. Most are covered with scales. Most fish in Missouri “look” like fish and could never be confused with anything else. True, lampreys and eels have snakelike bodies — but they also have fins and smooth, slimy skin, which snakes do not.