Texas Freshwater Fishes (UT Austin mirror of http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/)

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

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.

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 *