Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 31 - 40 of 88 results
Flathead chub side view photo with black background
Flathead Chub
Platygobio gracilis
The flathead chub is a slender, silvery minnow with small eyes, sickle-shaped pectoral fins, and wedge-shaped head with a pointed snout. Native to Missouri's big rivers and their tributaries, it is now state endangered.
Golden shiner male, side view photo with black background
Golden Shiner
Notemigonus crysoleucas
The golden shiner is a deep-bodied minnow with a greenish-olive back and a faint dusky stripe along the midline. It has a fleshy keel along the midline of the belly. It is widespread in Missouri.
Cypress minnow side view photo with black background
Cypress Minnow
Hybognathus hayi
The cypress minnow, like its Bootheel swampland habitat, is in danger of vanishing from Missouri. On the forward part of this fish's side, note the distinct cross-hatched pattern made by the dark-edged scales.
Brook silverside side view photo with black background
Brook Silverside
Labidesthes sicculus
The brook silverside is a little fish that is very active in the daytime and on bright, moonlit nights.
Bleeding shiner male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Bleeding Shiner
Luxilus zonatus
The bleeding shiner is restricted to the Ozarks. Males sport brilliant red during breeding season. Check your ID by noting the dark, crescent bar behind the gill cover and the dark stripe that abruptly narrows just behind the gill opening.
Hornyhead chub female, side view photo with black background
Hornyhead Chub
Nocomis biguttatus
The hornyhead chub is a moderately large, slender minnow with a rather large, nearly horizontal mouth. Males commonly have bony projections on top of the head. Occurs in clear Ozark streams with permanent flow and clean gravel.
Southern cavefish side view photo with black background
Southern Cavefish
Typhlichthys subterraneus
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.
Grotto sculpin side view photo with black background
Grotto Sculpin
Cottus specus
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.
Pirate perch female, side view photo with black background
Pirate Perch
Aphredoderus sayanus
The pirate perch is a small, grayish fish that is heavily speckled with black, with only one dorsal fin. It occurs in Missouri's southeastern lowlands, nearby parts of the Ozarks, and in a few locations along the Mississippi River.
Central stoneroller male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Central Stoneroller
Campostoma anomalum (syn. C. pullum)
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.
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.