Field Guide

The flathead chub is a slender, silvery minnow with small eyes, sickle-shaped pectoral fins, and wedge-shaped head with a pointed snout. Native to Missouri's big rivers and their tributaries, it is now state endangered.

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 northern studfish is common and widely distributed in every principal Ozark stream system except the Neosho. Males in spawning coloration are some of our prettiest topminnows.

In our state, the duskystripe shiner is only found in the White River system of southwest and south-central Missouri. It prefers swift, clear headwater streams. The dark stripe along the side extends from nose to tail with a lighter-colored band above it.

Grass carp are large-bodied with a broad head and a terminal transverse mouth. The scales appear crosshatched. A native of east Asia, it is now widely distributed in the Missouri, Mississippi, and St. Francis rivers and in impoundments.

The river carpsucker has a silvery, deep, rather thick body, a long, sickle-shaped dorsal fin, and whitish lower fins. It is the most abundant and widely distributed carpsucker in Missouri.

Missouri's largest sucker, the bigmouth buffalo occurs over much of the state and is most abundant in the Missouri River and its larger tributaries to the north.