Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 31 - 40 of 41 results
Redfin pickerel side view photo with black background
Grass Pickerel
Esox americanus vermiculatus
The grass pickerel is the most common and widely distributed pike in Missouri. It is also the smallest, seldom exceeding 10 or 12 inches in length.
Goldfish side view photo with black background
Goldfish
Carassius auratus
Goldfish are not native to North America. They often escape into the wild from bait buckets and other causes, but there are few self-sustaining populations in Missouri.
Grass carp side view photo with black background
Grass Carp
Ctenopharyngodon idella
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.
River carpsucker side view photo with black background
River Carpsucker
Carpiodes carpio
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.
Logperch side view photo with black background
Logperch
Percina caprodes
The logperch occurs in small- to medium-sized rivers and along gravel shorelines in reservoirs. Our largest darter has a distinctly conical snout that overhangs the mouth, and 15 to 20 vertical dark bars on a light background.
Warmouth male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Warmouth
Lepomis gulosus
The warmouth is a thick-bodied, large-mouthed sunfish that occurs widely over the southern and eastern parts of Missouri. Note the 4 or 5 reddish-brown streaks radiating from the red eye across the side of the head.
Quillback side view photo with black background
Quillback
Carpiodes cyprinus
Like our other carpsuckers, the quillback has a deep, rather thick body and a long, sickle-shaped dorsal fin. This silvery, hump-backed fish is widely distributed in Missouri.
Golden redhorse side view photo with black background
Golden Redhorse
Moxostoma erythrurum
The golden redhorse is a smaller-bodied sucker with large scales and a short dorsal fin. It occurs in Ozark and northeast Missouri streams.
River redhorse side view photo with black background
River Redhorse
Moxostoma carinatum
The river redhorse occurs throughout the Ozarks but is seldom common. It inhabits pools of clear, medium-sized to large streams with gravelly or rocky bottoms and continuous strong flow.
Shorthead redhorse side view photo with black background
Shorthead Redhorse
Moxostoma macrolepidotum
The shorthead redhorse is the most widely distributed redhorse sucker in Missouri, occurring nearly statewide. No other Missouri redhorse is as adaptable in its habitat requirements. Many specimens have a pea-shaped swelling on the upper lip.
See Also
Photo of a three-toed amphiuma in an aquarium.
Three-Toed Amphiuma
Amphiuma tridactylum
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.
Photo of researcher holding a gilled siren
Western Lesser Siren
Siren intermedia nettingi
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.