Texas Freshwater Fishes

Texas State University - San Marcos

Department of Biology

 

NOTE - this is an archival copy of the site at http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/index.htm made January 23, 2013.
Neither that site nor this copy will be updated, but this site's species account content has been fully integrated into the Fishes of Texas Project website and will continue to evolve there via collaboration between the Bonner lab at Texas State University and the Fishes of Texas Project group at the University of Texas at Austin. The two sites evolved in isolation are are derived from different data sets (literature vs museum specimens). We hope via this new collaboration to reconcile differences and maximize the information content of the Fishes of Texas Project. See that project's documentation for additional details regarding the merging of these two projects.

 

For a listing of freshwater fishes in Texas, please scroll down this page and click on the species or drainage link that you wish to view.

 

 

 

                                   To purchase

              Freshwater Fishes of Texas: A Field Guide :

                                                        

Bobby G. Whiteside, Timothy H. Bonner, and Chad Thomas                 

Photograph by Carolyn Whiteside                                    .

 

 

 

 

Permission is given for the use of text or photographs for non-commercial, educational, or scientific purposes. Please credit the following individuals and literature listed below.

 

Text by Carla Hassan-Williams and Timothy H. Bonner.  Photographs by Chad Thomas.

Texas State University-San Marcos

Biology Department / Aquatic Station 

 

 

The majority of images on this website are taken from

 Freshwater Fishes of Texas: A Field Guide

by

 Chad Thomas, Timothy H. Bonner, and Bobby G. Whiteside 

 Texas A&M Press 2007

 

 

Contact Texas A&M Press if interested in purchasing copyrighted photographs for commercial, non-educational, or non-scientific use. 

TAMU Press: For subrights and permissions, contact lls@tampress.tamu.edu .

 

 

 

 

Note:  Website updated frequently.

Please revisit this site for additional information.  

 

Home Brazos River Canadian River Colorado River Guadalupe River Lavaca River

Neches River Nueces River Red River Rio Grande Sabine River San Jacinto River Trinity River

 

The following is a list of freshwater fishes in Texas.  Click on above links for drainage specific species listings. 

I = introduced; X = Likely extinct; EX = Likely extirpated in Texas; * = marine fishes sometimes found in rivers

 

Petromyzontidae

Ichthyomyzon castaneus   chestnut lamprey
  Ichthyomyzon gagei  southern brook lamprey
Acipenseridae Scaphirhynchus platorynchus  shovelnose sturgeon
Polyodontidae  Polyodon spathula  paddlefish
Lepisosteidae Atractosteus spatula  alligator gar
  Lepisosteus oculatus  spotted gar
  Lepisosteus osseus  longnose gar
  Lepisosteus platostomus  shortnose gar
Amiidae  Amia calva  bowfin
Hiodontidae  Hiodon alosoides  goldeye
Elopidae Elops saurus ladyfish *
Anguillidae  Anguilla rostrata  American eel
Clupeidae Alosa chrysochloris skipjack herring *
  Brevoortia patronus Gulf menhaden *
  Dorosoma cepedianum  gizzard shad
  Dorosoma petenense  threadfin shad
Engraulidae Anchoa mitchilli bay anchovy *
Cyprinidae  Campostoma anomalum  central stoneroller
  Campostoma ornatum  Mexican stoneroller
  Carassius auratus  goldfish (I)
  Ctenopharyngodon idella   grass carp (I)
  Cyprinella lepida  plateau shiner
  Cyprinella lutrensis  red shiner
  Cyprinella lutrensis blairi Maravillas red shiner (X)
  Cyprinella proserpina  proserpine shiner
  Cyprinella sp. Nueces River shiner
  Cyprinella venusta  blacktail shiner
  Cyprinus carpio  common carp (I)
  Dionda argentosa  manantial roundnose minnow
  Dionda diaboli Devils River minnow
  Dionda episcopa  roundnose minnow
  Dionda nigrotaeniata  Guadalupe roundnose minnow
  Dionda serena  Nueces roundnose minnow
  Gila pandora Rio Grande chub
  Hybognathus amarus  Rio Grande silvery minnow (EX)
  Hybognathus hayi cypress minnow
  Hybognathus nuchalis  Mississippi silvery minnow
  Hybognathus placitus  plains minnow
  Hybopsis amnis  pallid shiner
  Luxilus chrysocephalus  striped shiner
  Lythrurus fumeus  ribbon shiner
  Lythrurus umbratilis  redfin shiner
  Macrhybopsis aestivalis  speckled chub
  Macrhybopsis australis  prairie chub
  Macrhybopsis hyostoma  shoal chub
  Macrhybopsis marconis  burrhead chub
  Macrhybopsis tetranema  peppered chub
  Macrhybopsis storeriana   silver chub
  Notemigonus crysoleucas  golden shiner
  Notropis amabilis  Texas shiner
  Notropis atherinoides  emerald shiner
  Notropis atrocaudalis  blackspot shiner
  Notropis bairdi  Red River shiner
  Notropis blennius river shiner
  Notropis braytoni  Tamaulipas shiner
  Notropis buccula  smalleye shiner
  Notropis buchanani  ghost shiner
  Notropis chalybaeus   ironcolor shiner
  Notropis chihuahua  Chihuahua shiner
  Notropis girardi  Arkansas River shiner
  Notropis jemezanus  Rio Grande shiner
  Notropis maculatus  taillight shiner
  Notropis orca phantom shiner (X)
  Notropis oxyrhynchus  sharpnose shiner
  Notropis potteri  chub shiner
  Notropis sabinae  Sabine shiner
  Notropis shumardi  silverband shiner
  Notropis simus pecosensis Pecos bluntnose shiner (EX)
  Notropis simus simus Rio Grande bluntnose shiner (X)
  Notropis stramineus  sand shiner
  Notropis texanus  weed shiner
  Notropis volucellus  mimic shiner
  Opsopoeodus emiliae  pugnose minnow
  Phenacobius mirabilis  suckermouth minnow
  Pimephales promelas  fathead minnow
  Pimephales vigilax  bullhead minnow
  Platygobio gracilis  flathead chub
  Pteronotropis hubbsi bluehead shiner
  Rhinichthys cataractae  longnose dace
  Scardinius erythrophthalmus rudd (I)
  Semotilus atromaculatus  creek chub
Catostomidae  Carpiodes carpio  river carpsucker
  Cycleptus elongatus  blue sucker
  Cycleptus sp. Rio Grande blue sucker
  Erimyzon oblongus creek chubsucker
  Erimyzon sucetta  lake chubsucker
  Ictiobus bubalus  smallmouth buffalo
  Ictiobus cyprinellus  bigmouth buffalo
  Ictiobus niger black buffalo
  Minytrema melanops  spotted sucker
  Moxostoma austrinum Mexican redhorse
  Moxostoma congestum  gray redhorse
  Moxostoma erythrurum golden redhorse
  Moxostoma poecilurum  blacktail redhorse
Characidae  Astyanax mexicanus  Mexican tetra
Ictaluridae  Ameiurus melas  black bullhead
  Ameiurus natalis  yellow bullhead
  Ictalurus furcatus  blue catfish
  Ictalurus lupus  headwater catfish
  Ictalurus punctatus  channel catfish
  Ictalurus sp. Chihuahua catfish
  Noturus gyrinus  tadpole madtom
  Noturus nocturnus  freckled madtom
  Pylodictis olivaris  flathead catfish
  Satan eurystomus  widemouth blindcat
  Trogloglanis pattersoni toothless blindcat
Loricariidae  Hypostomus plecostomus  suckermouth catfish (I)
  Platydoras armatulus southern striped Raphael (I)
  Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus vermiculated sailfin catfish (I)
Esocidae  Esox americanus  redfin pickerel
  Esox niger  chain pickerel
Salmonidae  Oncorhynchus clarki cutthroat trout (EX)
  Oncorhynchus mykiss rainbow trout
  Salmo trutta brown trout (I)
Aphredoderidae  Aphredoderus sayanus  pirate perch
Mugilidae  Mugil cephalus  striped mullet
  Mugil curema white mullet *
  Agonostomus monticola mountain mullet
Atherinopsidae  Labidesthes sicculus  brook silverside
  Membras martinica  rough silverside
  Menidia beryllina  inland silverside
Belonidae Strongylura marina Atlantic needlefish *
Fundulidae  Fundulus blairae western starhead topminnow
  Fundulus chrysotus  golden topminnow
  Fundulus grandis  Gulf killifish
  Fundulus kansae northern plains killifish
  Fundulus notatus  blackstripe topminnow
  Fundulus olivaceus  blackspotted topminnow
  Fundulus pulvereus bayou topminnow *
  Fundulus similis  longnose killifish
  Fundulus zebrinus  plains killifish
  Lucania goodei bluefin killifish (I)
  Lucania parva  rainwater killifish
Poeciliidae Belonesox belizanus pike killifish *
  Gambusia affinis  western mosquitofish
  Gambusia amistadensis Amistad gambusia (X)
  Gambusia clarkhubbsi  San Felipe gambusia
  Gambusia gaigei Big Bend gambusia
  Gambusia geiseri  largespring gambusia
  Gambusia georgei San Marcos gambusia (X)
  Gambusia heterochir Clear Creek gambusia
  Gambusia senilis blotched gambusia
  Gambusia nobilis Pecos gambusia
  Gambusia speciosa Tex-Mex gambusia
  Heterandria formosa least killifish
  Poecilia formosa  Amazon molly
  Poecilia latipinna  sailfin molly
  Poecilia reticulata guppy (I)
  Xiphophorus helleri green swordtail (I)
Cyprinodontidae  Cyprinodon bovinus Leon Springs pupfish
  Cyprinodon elegans Comanche Springs pupfish
  Cyprinodon eximius  Conchos pupfish
  Cyprinodon pecosensis Pecos pupfish
  Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis  Red River pupfish
  Cyprinodon variegatus sheepshead minnow
Syngnathidae Syngnathus scovelli Gulf pipefish *
Moronidae  Morone chrysops  white bass
  Morone mississippiensis   yellow bass
  Morone saxatilis  striped bass (I)
Centrarchidae  Ambloplites rupestris  rock bass (I)
  Centrarchus macropterus   flier
  Lepomis auritus  redbreast sunfish (I)
  Lepomis cyanellus  green sunfish
  Lepomis gulosus  warmouth
  Lepomis humilis  orangespotted sunfish
  Lepomis macrochirus  bluegill
  Lepomis marginatus  dollar sunfish
  Lepomis megalotis  longear sunfish
  Lepomis microlophus  redear sunfish
  Lepomis miniatus  redspotted sunfish.
  Lepomis symmetricus  bantam sunfish
  Micropterus dolomieu  smallmouth bass (I)
  Micropterus punctulatus   spotted bass
  Micropterus salmoides  largemouth bass
  Micropterus treculii  Guadalupe bass
  Pomoxis annularis  white crappie
  Pomoxis nigromaculatus  black crappie
Percidae  Ammocrypta vivax  scaly sand darter
  Ammocrypta clara  western sand darter
  Etheostoma artesiae redspot darter
  Etheostoma asprigene  mud darter
  Etheostoma chlorosoma  bluntnose darter
  Etheostoma fonticola  fountain darter
  Etheostoma fusiforme swamp darter
  Etheostoma gracile  slough darter
  Etheostoma grahami Rio Grande darter
  Etheostoma histrio  harlequin darter
  Etheostoma lepidum  greenthroat darter
  Etheostoma parvipinne  goldstripe darter
  Etheostoma proeliare  cypress darter
  Etheostoma radiosum orangebelly darter
  Etheostoma spectabile  orangethroat darter
  Perca flavescens  yellow perch
  Percina apristis Guadalupe darter
  Percina caprodes  logperch
  Percina carbonaria  Texas logperch
  Percina macrolepida  bigscale logperch
  Percina maculata  blackside darter
  Percina phoxocephala slenderhead darter
  Percina sciera  dusky darter
  Percina shumardi river darter
  Sander vitreus walleye (I)
Sparidae Lagodon rhomboides pinfish *
Sciaenidae Aplodinotus grunniens  freshwater drum
  Micropogonias undulatus Atlantic croaker *
Elassomatidae  Elassoma zonatum  banded pygmy sunfish
Cichlidae  Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum  Rio Grande cichlid
  Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum convict cichlid (I)
  Oreochromis aureus  blue tilapia (I)
  Oreochromis mossambicus   Mozambique tilapia (I)
  Psuedotropheus sp. African lake cichlid (I)
  Tilapia zilli redbelly tilapia (I)
Eleotridae Gobiomorus dormitor bigmouth sleeper
Gobiidae Awaous banana river goby
  Gobiosoma bosc naked goby *
Paralichthyidae Paralichthys lethostigma southern flounder *
Achiridae Trinectes maculatus fasciatus hogchoker *