Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 1 - 10 of 15 results
Media
Blackspotted topminnow side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Fundulus olivaceus
Description
The blackspotted topminnow is a sleek, swift little fish that lives in quiet, clear sections of rivers mostly south of the Missouri River. Topminnows have a habit of skimming along just beneath the surface of the water.
Media
Blackstripe topminnow, male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Fundulus notatus
Description
The blackstripe topminnow has a slender, elongated shape and is a sleek, swift fish. Topminnows have a habit of skimming along just beneath the surface of the water.
Media
Spring cavefish side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Forbesichthys agassizi
Description
The spring cavefish is the only cavefish in our state that has eyes, however small, and whose body is yellowish brown or brown; our other cavefishes lack eyes entirely and are pale and nearly colorless.
Media
Central stoneroller male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Campostoma anomalum (syn. C. pullum)
Description
The central stoneroller is a brownish minnow with small eyes. The lower jaw has a flat, shelflike extension used to scrape algae from rocks. Found statewide, it is most active during the daytime.
Media
Northern studfish female, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Fundulus catenatus
Description
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.
Media
Goldfish side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Carassius auratus
Description
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.
Media
Bigmouth buffalo side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Ictiobus cyprinellus
Description
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.
Media
Common carp side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cyprinus carpio
Description
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.
Media
Black buffalo side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Ictiobus niger
Description
Compared to Missouri’s other buffalofishes, the black buffalo is less abundant and widespread, and of the three, it occurs most often in places with strong currents.
Media
Quillback side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Carpiodes cyprinus
Description
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.
See Also
Media
Photo of a three-toed amphiuma in an aquarium.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Amphiuma tridactylum
Description
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.
Media
Photo of researcher holding a gilled siren
Species Types
Scientific Name
Siren intermedia nettingi
Description
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.