Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 results
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.
Northern hog sucker side view photo with black background
Northern Hog Sucker
Hypentelium nigricans
The northern hog sucker is one of the most abundant and widely distributed stream fishes in the Ozarks. It has a large, bony, square head. The mouth is at the tip of snout on the bottom. There are usually four dark crossbars.
Highfin carpsucker breeding male side view photo with black background
Highfin Carpsucker
Carpiodes velifer
The highfin carpsucker is named for the remarkably long first principal ray of its dorsal fin. It is rare in Missouri and is a Species of Conservation Concern.
Orangethroat darter male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Darters
Etheostoma, Percina, Ammocrypta, and Crystallaria spp.
Darters have been described as the hummingbirds of the fish world: colorful, small, and quick. Missouri has about 44 different types of darters. They are most diverse in the fast, clear, rocky streams of the Ozarks.
Crystal darter side view photo with black background
Crystal Darter
Crystallaria asprella
The crystal darter is Endangered in Missouri. Formerly known from many river drainages in the east-central and southeastern parts of our state, this pale, very slender darter apparently now lives only in the Gasconade and Black rivers.
Northern studfish female, side view photo with black background
Northern Studfish
Fundulus catenatus
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.
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.
Bigmouth buffalo side view photo with black background
Bigmouth Buffalo
Ictiobus cyprinellus
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.
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.