Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Select Stream Fishes of North Texas Greg Conley, Pollution Biologist Adam Whisenant, Regional Biologist Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Kills and Spills Team 11810 FM 848 Tyler, Texas 75707 Fish ID During Fish Kills There’s an art to it!!! Fish Kill Statistic – Species Richness by County Dallas and Collin Counties Fish Kill Statistics (last 5 years) • 69 events • 80,983 fish dead from all habitats (streams, rivers, lakes, ponds) – 38 species – Top five: 38% threadfin shad, 15% gizzard shad, 12% unclassified sunfish, 5% mixed species, 5% longear sunfish • 29,144 fish dead in streams – 28 species – Top five: 20% gizzard shad, 13% green sunfish, 11% unclassified sunfish, 11% mixed species, 7% green sunfish – Top five causes: 32% chlorine, 32% bacterial respiration, 21% animal respiration, 5% sewage, 3% other Gars - Lepisosteidae Longnose Gar Lepisosteus osseus • Large canine teeth in one row on each side of upper and lower jaw • Snout long and narrow • Spots on median fins Spotted Gar Lepisosteus oculatus • Large canine teeth in one row on each side of upper and lower jaw • Snout of medium width and length • Spots on body, head, and all fins Shads - Clupeidae Gizzard Shad vs. Threadfin Shad Dorsoma cepedianum vs. Dorsoma petenense • Snout overhangs lower jaw • Shoulder spot diameter = eye diameter • Length up to 20.5” • Mouth terminal • Spot diameter < eye diameter • Length up 7.9” but usually much smaller Carps and Minnows Cyprinidae Blacktail Shiner Cyprinella venusta • Fairly deep body • Snout pointed • Mouth terminal/sub terminal • Large, black caudal spot • Diamond shaped scales Bullhead Minnow Pimephales vigilax • • • • Snout rounded Mouth subterminal Caudal spot Dorsal fin pigmentation • Body stout Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum • Snout blunt and rounded • Mouth subterminal • Cartilaginous ridge of lower jaw prominent • Dark olivaceous on top grading to whitish on underside Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas • Snout pointed • Mouth superior • Lateral line greatly decurved • Dorsal fin origin well behind pelvic fin origin • Deep bodied Red Shiner Cyprinella lutrensis • Mouth nearly terminal • Black stripe on chin • Purple triangleshaped bar above pectoral fin • Deep body and compressed Suckers - Catostomidae River Carpsucker vs. Smallmouth Buffalo Carpiodes carpio vs. Ictiobus bubalus • Streamlined body • Blunt face • Subtriangular subopercle • Mouth subterminal • Deep body • Semicircular subopercle • Mouth subterminal Spotted Sucker Minytrema melanops • Slim-bodied • Rows of black spots • Mouth inferior and horizontal • Pollution intolerant Bullhead Catfishes Ictaluridae Black Bullhead Catfish Yellow Bullhead Catfish Ameiurus melas Ameiurus natalis • Black barbels (lower) • Caudal fin square slightly forked • Yellow barbels (lower) • Caudal fin rounded Blue Catfish Channel Catfish Ictalurus furcatus Ictalurus punctatus • Caudal fin deeply forked • Anal fin straight • Caudal fin deeply forked • Anal fin rounded • Juveniles may have black spots Liverbearers – Poeciliidae Western Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis • Mouth superior • Dark bar below eye • Scales outlined in melanophores • Body may have black specks Killifishes - Fundulidae Blackstripe Topminnow Fundulus Notatus • Black spots on upper body • Dark middorsal stripe from snout to caudal fin • Body slender Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus • Vertical bands along body • Mouth terminal • Lower lip large and fleshy Temperate Bass - Moronidae White Bass Hybrid Striped Bass Morone chrysops Morone sp. • Two medial tooth • Single medial tooth patches patch • One stripe to caudal fin • Broken lines below lateral line Black Basses & Sunfishes Centrarchidae Warmouth Lepomis gulosus • Large mouth • Brown and yellow stripes from eye to opercle margin • Long gill rakers • Eyes red • Tooth patch Bluegill Lepomis machrochirus • Dark spot at base of dorsal fin • Long pectoral fin • Opercular flap mostly black, sometimes with an iridescent blue anterior edge • Opercle flexible • Long gill rakers Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus • Large mouth • Short pectoral fins • Posterior dark spot on dorsal fin • Cheeks streaked with blue-green • Opercle stiff • Opercle black with light margin • Fin highlights • Long gill rakers Longear sunfish Lepomis megalotis • Short and round pectoral fins • Opercular flap flexible with white margin • Short gill rakers Orangespotted Sunfish Lepomis humilis • Head pointed and small • Opercle flap dark, flexible with with white margin • Pectoral fin short and rounded • Males with orange spots on lateral region Redear Sunfish Lepomis microlophus • Margin of opercle light or red • Long pectoral fin • Opercular flap stiff to margin • Short gill rakers White crappie Black Crappie Pomoxis annularis Pomoxis nigromaculatus • Length of dorsal fin base < distance from dorsal fin origin to posterior edge of eye • Dorsal spines 6 • Length of dorsal fin base reaches from dorsal fin origin to posterior edge of eye • Dorsal spines 7-8 Largemouth Bass Spotted Bass Micropterus salmoides Micropterus punctulatus • Maxilla extends beyond eye • Dorsal fins narrowly joined with deep notch • Maxilla does not extend beyond eye • Tooth patch on tongue • Dorsal fins broadly joined with shallow notch Resources www.fishesoftexas.org Questions? Sabine River below Lake Tawakoni 2008