Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 results
Central mudminnow side view photo with black background
Central Mudminnow
Umbra limi
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.
Golden shiner male, side view photo with black background
Golden Shiner
Notemigonus crysoleucas
The golden shiner is a deep-bodied minnow with a greenish-olive back and a faint dusky stripe along the midline. It has a fleshy keel along the midline of the belly. It is widespread in Missouri.
Cypress minnow side view photo with black background
Cypress Minnow
Hybognathus hayi
The cypress minnow, like its Bootheel swampland habitat, is in danger of vanishing from Missouri. On the forward part of this fish's side, note the distinct cross-hatched pattern made by the dark-edged scales.
Sabine shiner side view photo with black background
Sabine Shiner
Notropis sabinae
In Missouri, the Sabine shiner is known only from a short stretch of the Black River in Butler County. This slender, silvery minnow has a bluntly rounded snout that projects slightly beyond the upper lip.
Taillight shiner male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Taillight Shiner
Notropis maculatus
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.
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.
Common carp side view photo with black background
Common Carp
Cyprinus carpio
The common carp is a "whopper" member of the minnow family. Originally from Asia, it was actively stocked in America in the 1800s and was firmly established in Missouri by 1895.
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.
Southern redbelly dace male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Minnows
Notropis, Cyprinella, Hybognathus, Luxilus, and others
Minnows — including shiners, chubs, stonerollers, dace, and carp — are members of the minnow family, the Cyprinidae. It is the largest of all fish families, and Missouri has about 70 species.
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.