Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 11 - 20 of 22 results
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
Green sunfish male, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lepomis cyanellus
Description
The green sunfish is thick-bodied with a large mouth. The upper jaw extends to about the middle of the eye. It may occur in just about any pond, lake, or stream that is capable of supporting fish life.
Media
Black crappie, male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Description
The black crappie is a popular panfish. It is deep bodied and slab sided. The sides are silver with an irregular pattern of dark speckles. The upper jaw is long, reaching past the middle of the eye.
Media
Bluegill male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lepomis macrochirus
Description
The bluegill is one of the most abundant and popular panfishes in North America. This deep-bodied, slab-sided sunfish sports a black “ear flap” extending from the edge of its gill cover.
Media
Smallmouth bass side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Micropterus dolomieu
Description
The smallmouth bass is a popular gamefish mostly found in cool, clear Ozark streams and large reservoirs in the Ozarks. It's less common in the upper Mississippi River and its principal prairie tributaries that have clear water and permanent flow.
Media
Spotted bass side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Micropterus punctulatus
Description
The spotted bass inhabits permanent-flowing waters that are warmer and slightly more turbid than those where the smallmouth bass occurs. Note the form of its stripe and the length of its jaw.
Media
White bass side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Morone chrysops
Description
The white bass is one of the most important game fish in Missouri’s large impoundments. It inhabits the deeper pools of streams and the open water of lakes and reservoirs.
Media
Longnose gar side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lepisosteus osseus
Description
The longnose gar has a longer, narrower snout than our other three gars and is the most widely distributed gar in Missouri.
Media
Walleye side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Sander vitreus
Description
MDC has been stocking walleye, a popular game fish, in lakes and reservoirs including Stockton, Lake of the Ozarks, Bull Shoals, and numerous other reservoirs.
Media
Logperch side view photo with black background
Species Types
Scientific Name
Percina caprodes
Description
The logperch occurs in small- to medium-sized rivers and along gravel shorelines in reservoirs. Our largest darter has a distinctly conical snout that overhangs the mouth, and 15 to 20 vertical dark bars on a light background.
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.