ID Tips for Fish Families and Species

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ID Tips for Fish Families and Species
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Replace Redbelly Dace with Mountain Redbelly Dace
on your species listChange spelling of
Rosy-sided Dace to Rosyside Dace
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Family Petromyzontidae

• Our only Family in Class Agnatha and Order
  Petromyzontiformes
• Jawless, no paired fins, gill slits
• Eel-like
• Sea lamprey is larger many teeth on oral disk
• Least brook lamprey is smaller with few teeth on
  oral disk
• Similar species American eel has same general
  shape but has jaws, operculum, paired fins

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Order Acipenseriformes

• Family Acipenseridae
• Lake Sturgeon
• Heterocercal tail
• Barbels
• Large scutes on body
• Ventral mouth

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Order Acipenseriformes

• Family Polyodontidae
• Paddlefish
• Long, paddle-like snout
• Very few scales
• Pointed flap at end of operculum
• No teeth
• Similar species Longnose gar is covered with
  ganoid scales has many teeth

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Order Lepisosteiformes

• Family Lepisosteidae
• Longnose Gar
• Dorsal, anal fins near tail
• Beak-like snout with many teeth
• Ganoid scales

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Order Anguilliformes

• Family Anguillidae
• American Eel
• Long, snake-like body
• Dorsal and anal fins connected to tail
• Similar species lampreys lack pectoral fins,
  jaws, operculum

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Order Salmoniformes
Rainbow

• Family Salmonidae
• All have an adipose fin
• Rainbow Trout
• Dark spots on light body, extend onto slightly
  forked tail
• Brook Trout
• Blue halos around pink or red spots light wavy
  lines or blotches on back and dorsal fin
• Brown Trout
• Both black and red spots on body many spots on
  operculum
• Lake Trout
• Tail deeply forked when compared to other 3 sp.
  creamy or yellow spots on head, body, dorsal, and
  caudal fins

Brook
Brown
Lake
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Order Siluriformes

• Family Ictaluridae
• Scaleless, barbels, adipose fin, spine on dorsal
  fin
• Channel Catfish
• Deeply forked tail rounded anal fin often has
  dark spots on body
• Blue Catfish
• Forked tail anal fin straight-edged no dark
  spots on body

Channel Catfish
Blue Catfish
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Order Siluriformes

• Family Ictaluridae
• Yellow Bullhead
• Yellow barbels on chin tail not forked
• Flathead Catfish
• Wide, flat head
• Projecting lower jaw
• Tail not forked
• Whitish tip on upper lobe of caudal fin

Yellow Bullhead
Flathead Catfish
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Order Siluriformes

• Family Ictaluridae
• Madtom adipose and caudal fins are connected (or
  nearly so)
• Margined Madtom
• Dark fin margins
• Brindled Madtom
• Generally speckled appearance
• Top of dorsal fin is dark
• Dark band extends to edge of adipose fin
• Stonecat
• No dark bands or darkened fin margins

Margined Madtom
Brindled Madtom
Stonecat
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Order Esociformes

• Family Esocidae
• Streamlined bodies forked tails duck-like,
  toothed snouts dorsal and anal fins far back on
  body
• Chain Pickeral
• Chain-like body markings fully-scaled cheek and
  operculum
• Northern Pike
• Light, bean-shaped spots fully-scaled cheek,
  partly-scaled operculum
• Muskellunge
• Dark splotches or bars on light body partly
  scaled operculum and cheek
• Similar species LN Gar has longer snout,
  unforked tail

Chain Pickeral
N. Pike
Musk.
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Order Cypriniformes

• Family Cyprinidae
• Very diverse family
• Most are small (lt 15 cm), but can get larger
• Largest sp is Colorado Pikeminnow
• Have only one dorsal fin abdominal pelvic fins

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Order Cypriniformes
Tubercles

• Family Cyprinidae
• Central Stoneroller
• Cartilagenous ridge on lower jaw often has
  tubercles
• Common Carp
• Large has two barbels on each side of upper jaw
• Bluntnose Minnow
• Blunt snout dark stripe along body dark spot at
  caudal fin base

C. Stoneroller
C. Carp
B. Minnow
C. Stoneroller
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Order Cypriniformes

• Family Cyprinidae
• Daces usually have small scales
• Rosyside Dace
• Large, upturned mouth dark line on side that is
  broken or unconnected
• Mt. Redbelly Dace
• Stripe breaks below dorsal fin row of large
  black spots along back, side
• Blacknose Dace
• Black stripe on side extends through eye onto
  snout longish snout black-brown specks on back
  and side

Rosyside
Mt. Redbelly
Blacknose
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Order Cyprinformes
Northern Hogsucker

• Family Catostomidae
• Thick lips, suctorial mouth
• Northern Hogsucker
• Saddles flattened head
• White Sucker
• Nearly round in cross-section scales increase in
  size from anterior to posterior

White Sucker
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Order Percopsiformes

• Family Percopsidae
• Trout-perch
• Head large in proportion to body adipose fin
  black spots along back and side

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Order Atheriniformes

• Family Fundulidae
• Change family name from Cyprinodontidae
• Banded Killifish
• Large eyes flattened head and back dorsal fin
  placed far back on body green-brown bars (10
  20) along silver side

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Order Perciformes

• Family Percichthyidae (or Moronidae)
• Striped Bass
• Continuous dark stripes on silver-white side
• Similar species superficially similar to other
  basses in Centrarchidae, but stripes make it
  easily distinguishable

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Order Perciformes

• Family Centrarchidae
• Two dorsal fins often broadly joined
• First dorsal fin spiny 2nd soft
• Pelvic fins far forward
• Body usually laterally compressed

Pumpkinseed
Bl. Crappie
L.M. Bass
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Order Perciformes

• Family Centrarchidae
• Note position of upper jaw in relation to eye
• Largemouth Bass
• 1st and 2nd dorsals almost unconnected
• Smallmouth Bass
• Often has vertical bars
• Usually no black lateral band
• Spotted Bass
• Rows of black spots on lower side
• 1st and 2nd dorsals more broadly connected than
  largemouth

LM
SM
Spotted
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Order Perciformes Family Centrarchidae
Redbreast
Note operculum shape and markings, Degree of
compression, Fin markings, Dorsal fin
attachment, Size of mouth
Green
Warmouth
Longear
Bluegill
Pumpkinseed
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Order Perciformes Family Centrarchidae
Trait Green Green Warmouth Bluegill
Pectoral Pectoral Rounded Pointed More pointed
Operculum and Cheek Operculum and Cheek Black spot w/ pale margin Dark stripes on cheek Dark spot at back of operculum
Dorsal Dorsal Spot at rear No Spot at rear Spot at rear
Anal Fin Anal Fin Spot at rear No spot at rear No spot at rear
Mouth Mouth Extends to eye Extends to eye Small terminal
Lateral compression Lateral compression Less Less More
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Order Perciformes Family Centrarchidae
Trait Redbreast Redbreast Longear Pumkinseed
Pectoral Pectoral Rounded Slightly Pointed More pointed
Operculum and Cheek Operculum and Cheek Very long and dark Long, dark, with pale edge Black spot with orange mark
Dorsal Dorsal No obvious markings No obvious markings No obvious markings
Anal Fin Anal Fin No obvious markings No obvious markings No obvious markings
Mouth Mouth Medium, reaches near front of eye Small terminal Small terminal
Lateral compression Lateral compression More Most More
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Order Perciformes

• Family Percidae
• Johnny Darter
• Xs and/or Ws on side blunt snout black eye
  stripe extends to lip
• Fantail Darter
• Dark striping on side tesselated tail
• Logperch
• Long snout alternating long and short vertical
  bars on sides dusky teardrop

Johnny
Fantail
Logperch
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Order Perciformes

• Family Percidae
• May be more similar in color than plates indicate
• Sauger
• Half-moons on dorsal fin
• Walleye
• Dark spot on posterior of first dorsal fin

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Order Scorpaeniformes

• Family Cottidae
• Members of this family have large mouth, large
  fan-like pectoral fins, and few or no scales
• Mottled Sculpin
• Pectoral fins distinguish this species from
  others on list
• Note dark mottling on a lighter body