Field Guide

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.

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.

The central mudminnow is is the only mudminnow that occurs in our state, and it is rare, occurring only in a few marshy locations near the Mississippi River. Mudminnows are closely related to the pikes.

The fathead minnow has a blunt, rounded snout, rounded fins, a dusky stripe along the side, and a spot at the base of the tail fin. It is most abundant in pools of small prairie creeks because it tolerates rather high temperatures, extreme turbidity, and low oxygen.

The southern redbelly dace has two dusky stripes separated by a broad golden stripe along the side. The bellies of males turn brilliant red in spring. It lives in small creeks and spring branches of the Ozarks with permanent flow of cool, clear water and a gravel or sand bottom.

Found in only a few Missouri streams, the Topeka shiner is an endangered native minnow that has declined dramatically because of environmental pollution, siltation, and loss or alteration of habitat.

The bleeding shiner is restricted to the Ozarks. Males sport brilliant red during breeding season. Check your ID by noting the dark, crescent bar behind the gill cover and the dark stripe that abruptly narrows just behind the gill opening.

One of the rarest Missouri minnows, the taillight shiner is known only from a few localities in southeast Missouri, in habitats representing the last remnants of low-gradient streams and swamps once common in that region.

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.