Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 1 - 10 of 21 results
Media
Brindled madtom side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Noturus miurus
Description
The brindled madtom inhabits many of the same lowland streams and ditches as the tadpole madtom, and is nearly as common. Brindled madtoms are more often found in pools, however. The species also inhabits the Spring River system in southwest Missouri.
Media
Checkered madtom side view photo with black background
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.
Media
Orangethroat darter male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
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.
Media
Goldstripe darter side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Etheostoma parvipinne
Description
The endangered goldstripe darter needs small, shallow, shaded, spring-fed streams with clear water and a low to moderate gradient. It occurs in only a few locations in southeastern Missouri.
Media
Johnny darter, female, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Etheostoma nigrum
Description
The Johnny darter occurs primarily in pools and slow-moving riffles in sandy streams. It's common in prairie streams of northeastern and central Missouri.
Media
Longnose darter side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Percina nasuta
Description
The longnose darter is slender, with a series of 10 to 15 small, indistinct, dark blotches or bars along the midside. It is endangered in Missouri, today known only from the St. Francis River and Lake Wappapello. Historically, it occurred in the White River.
Media
Blackspotted topminnow side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Fundulus olivaceus
Description
The blackspotted topminnow is a sleek, swift little fish that lives in quiet, clear sections of rivers mostly south of the Missouri River. Topminnows have a habit of skimming along just beneath the surface of the water.
Media
Blackstripe topminnow, male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Fundulus notatus
Description
The blackstripe topminnow has a slender, elongated shape and is a sleek, swift fish. Topminnows have a habit of skimming along just beneath the surface of the water.
Media
Spring cavefish side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Forbesichthys agassizi
Description
The spring cavefish is the only cavefish in our state that has eyes, however small, and whose body is yellowish brown or brown; our other cavefishes lack eyes entirely and are pale and nearly colorless.
Media
Northern brook lamprey side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Ichthyomyzon fossor
Description
The northern brook lamprey is a great example of a nonparasitic lamprey. While lampreys as a group are famous for being fish parasites, brook lampreys are essentially bottom feeders.
See Also
Media
Photo of a three-toed amphiuma in an aquarium.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Amphiuma tridactylum
Description
The three-toed amphiuma is an eel-like, completely aquatic salamander. It has very small forelimbs and hind limbs, each with three tiny toes. In Missouri it’s found only in the Bootheel region.
Media
Photo of researcher holding a gilled siren
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.