Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 1 - 10 of 21 results
Media
Gizzard shad side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Dorosoma cepedianum
Description
The gizzard shad is one of the most common and abundant fish in Missouri. In Missouri, this schooling fish occurs in every major stream system and is most abundant in reservoirs and large rivers.
Media
Skipjack herring side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Alosa chrysochloris
Description
The skipjack herring is an active fish, moving about continuously in large schools. It probably occurs at least occasionally in most of the large rivers of the state where its migrations are not blocked by dams.
Media
Alabama shad side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Alosa alabamae
Description
The Alabama shad is uncommon in Missouri. It spends most of its adult life in the sea and enters freshwater streams to spawn. Missouri may have the last spawning populations that occur in the Mississippi River system.
Media
Goldeye side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Hiodon alosoides
Description
Goldeyes are silvery, flat-sided fishes with large eyes and prominent teeth on the jaws, roof of the mouth, and tongue. A fleshy keel runs along the midline of the belly. The iris of the goldeye is golden.
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
Grass carp side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Ctenopharyngodon idella
Description
Grass carp are large-bodied with a broad head and a terminal transverse mouth. The scales appear crosshatched. A native of east Asia, it is now widely distributed in the Missouri, Mississippi, and St. Francis rivers and in impoundments.
Media
Black carp side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Mylopharyngodon piceus
Description
The black carp is a large, invasive carp from Asia. It eats mussels and snails and can damage populations of native mollusks. It is illegal to transport live black carp across state lines.
Media
Bighead carp side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
Description
The bighead carp is an invasive Asian carp. It does not jump as frequently as its cousin the silver carp, but it also leaps from the water when disturbed, threatening boaters' safety.
Media
Silver carp side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
Description
The silver carp is an invasive, nonnative fish. It is illegal to use it as live bait. Do not collect, transport, or dump it. It's related to the bighead carp, but its head is smaller and the eyes higher. The keel extends up to the base of the pectoral fins.
Media
River carpsucker side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Carpiodes carpio
Description
The river carpsucker has a silvery, deep, rather thick body, a long, sickle-shaped dorsal fin, and whitish lower fins. It is the most abundant and widely distributed carpsucker 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.