Fishes
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Typhlichthys subterraneus
Description
The southern cavefish has a long, flattened head without eyes. It is whitish-pink because it lacks pigmentation. The only other Missouri fish that lacks eyes is the Ozark cavefish.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Cottus specus
Description
The grotto sculpin is a rare fish adapted cave conditions. It has recently been designated an endangered species under the Federal Endangered Species Act. It's found only in Perry County, Missouri.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Amblyopsis rosae
Description
The Ozark cavefish is small, colorless, and blind. It lives only in springs, cave streams, and underground waters. It has been declared Endangered in our state and as Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
See Also
Media
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.
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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.