Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 11 - 20 of 23 results
Black bullhead side view photo with black background
Black Bullhead
Ameiurus melas
The black bullhead is widespread in Missouri. It is the most common bullhead catfish in north and west portions of the state. It has dusky or black chin barbels, and the edge of its tail fin is notched, not straight.
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.
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.
Spotted gar side view photo with black background
Spotted Gar
Lepisosteus oculatus
The spotted gar has many well-defined roundish black spots on top of the head and on the paired fins. Like other gars, it's a long, cylindrical fish with a long snout and numerous prominent teeth. The body is covered with hard, diamond-shaped scales.
Bowfin side view photo with black background
Eyetail Bowfin
Amia ocellicauda (formerly Amia calva)
The eyetail bowfin is a stout-bodied, nearly cylindrical fish. It is most abundant in the Mississippi Lowlands, though it occurs along the entire length of the Mississippi River.
White crappie male, side view photo with black background
Crappie, White
Pomoxis annularis
The white crappie, a popular panfish, has silver sides with 5 to 10 often faint vertical bars. The upper jaw reaches past the middle of the eye. It is more abundant and widespread than the black crappie.
Flier side view photo with black background
Flier
Centrarchus macropterus
The flier is found in Missouri's southeastern lowland swamps. It resembles crappie but has 10-13 dorsal spines. It's deep-bodied and saucer-shaped and generally olive-green to brassy in color.
Bluegill male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus
The bluegill is one of the most abundant and popular panfishes in North America. This deep-bodied, slab-sided sunfish sports a black “ear flap” extending from the edge of its gill cover.
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.
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.