KEY TO WARMWATER FISHES IN THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES AREA
Key to families, Nov 14, 1995
1a) paired fins absent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . PETROMYZONTIDAE (northern brook lamprey)
1b) paired fins present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2a) snout long and slender, scales ganoid and rhomboid . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LEPISOSTEIDAE (longnose gar)
2b) snout not long and slender, scales thin and round, or absent
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3a) broad, bony gular plate on the throat, nostril openings
tubular, dorsal fin with more than 45 rays . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AMIIDAE (bowfin)
3b) no gular plate, nostrils without external tubes, dorsal fin
shorter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TELEOSTEI 4
4a) mouth not surrounded by 4 pairs of long barbels . . . . . 5
4b) mouth surrounded by long barbels . . . ICTALURIDAE (catfish)
5a) pelvic fins abdominal, no pelvic spines, spiny dorsal fin
minute or absent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5b) pelvic fin thoracic, pelvic spines present; dorsal fin with
multiple spines (possibly soft spines) . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6a) mouth with teeth, head with scales . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6b) mouth without teeth, head without scales . . . . . . . . 10
7a) mouth small, nearly in line with horizontal dorsal outline
of the back, for feeding at the surface . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7b) mouth medium or large, or well below curved dorsal outline .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8a) face sharply pointed, a small anterior dorsal fin present. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ATHERINIDAE (brook silverside)
8b)face not sharply pointed, one dorsal fin, posterior; black . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . FUNDULIDAE (black striped topminnow)
9a) jaws short, face rounded . . . UMBRIDAE (central mudminnow)
9b) jaws long, snout long, flattened and wide . . . . ESOCIDAE
10a) lips ventral or subterminal, with numerous distinct sensory
plicae (small parallel ridges) or papillae . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CATOSTOMIDAE (suckers)
10b) lips terminal or subterminal, rarely ventral, thin and
simple, without sensory plicae or papillae...CYPRINIDAE (minnows)
11a) dorsal fin spines 5, widely separated . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GASTEROSTEIDAE (brook stickleback)
11b) dorsal spines more than 5, connected by rays . . . . . 12
12a) First dorsal fin with soft spines; head usually wider than
deep; pectoral fin large; eyes dorsal; dorsal, anal, and pectoral
fin rays unbranched . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cottidae, sculpins
12b) Dorsal spines hard and sharp; head not usually wider than
deep; eyes lateral; most fin rays deeply branched .. Percoidei 13
13a) Two dorsal fins slightly or broadly connected: the last
spine of the spiny dorsal fin reaches and overlaps the first
spine of the second dorsal fin; usually a conspicuous pigment
spot on opercular flap . . . . . . . . . Centrarchidae, sunfish
13b) Two dorsal fins distinctly divided: the last spine of the
spiny dorsal does not overlap the first spine of the second
dorsal fin; no conspicuous pigment spot over opercular spine...14
14a) Anal spines 3, partial gill with about 20 distinct filaments
on inside surface of gill cover . . . Moronidae, temperate basses
14b) Anal spines 2, partial gill on inside of gill cover with
rudimentary filaments . . . . . Percidae, perch, walleye, darters
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PIKE AND PICKEREL, ESOCIDAE
1a) cheek and opercle scaled, fins without spots..grass pickerel
1b) lower cheek and opercle unscaled, fins spotted...muskellunge
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CATFISHES, ICTALURIDAE
1a) adipose fin continuous with caudal fin . . . . . . madtoms 5
1b) adipose fin separated from caudal fin . . . . . . . . . . 2
2a) caudal fin forked . . . . . . . . . . . . . channel catfish
2b) caudal fin not forked . . . . . . . . .bullhead catfishes 3
3a) 24-27 anal rays; chin with yellow barbels .. yellow bullhead
3b) 17-24 anal rays; chin with dark barbels . . . . . . . . . 4
4a) fin membranes black, anal rays 17-21, pectoral spines not
sharply barbed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . black bullhead
4b) fin rays and membranes brown, anal rays 21-24, pectoral
spine strongly barbed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . brown bullhead
5a) color nearly uniform except on fin margin . . . . . . . . 6
5b) color mottled and banded on body and fins . . . . . . . . 7
6a) size moderate, pale fin edges, premaxillary band of teeth
with backward lateral extension . . . . . . . . . . . . stonecat
6b) size small, color dark, premaxillary band of teeth without
backward lateral extension . . . . . . . . . . . tadpole madtom
7a) pale edge on dorsal and adipose fin, two pale spots in front
of dorsal fin . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . northern madtom
7b) dorsal and adipose fin dark to outer edge, no pale spots in
front of dorsal fin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . brindled madtom
MINNOWS, CYPRINIDAE
1a) dorsal fin long, dorsal and anal fins with anterior spine..2
1b) dorsal fin short, no spines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2a) barbels present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . carp
2b) barbels absent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . goldfish
3a) lips ventral with cartilage scraping edge . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . central stoneroller
3b) lips not ventral, with soft, rounded edge . . . . . . . . 4
4a) scales small, more than 50 diagonal rows along sides . . . 5
4b) scales large, fewer than 50 diagonal rows along sides . . 9
5a) mouth large and horizontal, reaches to beneath eye . . . . 6
5b) mouth small, not reaching beneath eye . . . . . . . . . . 7
6a) dark spot in anterior corner of dorsal fin, upper lip . . .
slightly expanded in front . . . . . . . . . northern creek chub
6b) no spot in dorsal fin, lips uniformly thin . . redside dace
7a) mouth oblique, two dark stripes on upper sides, lateral
scales more than 70 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . redbelly daces 8
7b) mouth small and subterminal, body uniformly dark above,
lateral scales fewer than 70 . . . . . . . . . . blacknose dace
8a) short snout, small oblique mouth . . northern redbelly dace
8b) long snout, larger mouth . . . . . . southern redbelly dace
9a) keel on abdomen, mouth small and oblique, lateral line
decurved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . golden shiner
9b) round abdomen, mouth larger, lateral line nearly straight
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
10a) small crowded scales between head and dorsal fin; first
dorsal ray 1/2 length of the longest ray and not connected
closely to it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
10b) scales of back and sides approximately similar in size;
first principle dorsal ray preceded by a half-length ray
tightly pressed to it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11a) mouth small and oblique, snout not blunt . . fathead minnow
11b) mouth subterminal, snout blunt . . . . . bluntnose minnow
12a) snout blunt, anterior lateral line scales with pattern of
black "= = = = = =" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
12b) snout not blunt, no unusual pigment on lateral line . . 14
13a) anal rays usually 7, dark pigment interrupted around dorsal
fin base, wedge-shaped caudal spot . . . . . . . . . sand shiner
13b) anal rays usually 8, dark pigment around anus..mimic shiner
14a) dorsal fin with dense pigment spots between posterior rays,
pigmented scale margins create crosshatched pattern . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . spotfin shiner
14b) dorsal membranes unspotted, pattern not crosshatched . . 15
15a) distinct spot in caudal base . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
15b) no distinct spot at caudal base . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
16a) fins pointed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . spottail shiner
16b) fins rounded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . chubs 17
17a) snout short, pharyngeal teeth 1,4-4,1; males with tubercles
on top and back of head . . . . . . . . . . . . . hornyhead chub
17b) snout long, pharyngeal teeth 4-4; males with tubercles
limited to top of snout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . river chub
18a) side and face with continuous black stripe . . . . . . 19
18b) sides and face without continuous black stripe . . . . 20
19a) black stripe extends forward onto snout and chin . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . blackchin shiner
19b) black stripe extends forward onto snout only . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . blacknose shiner
20a) exposed part of lateral line scales 2X as high as long,
irridescent yellowish-green dorsal stripe in life, body
deep (depth = 1/4 standard length) in adults . . . . . . . . 21
20b) exposed part of lateral line scales not much higher than
long, body slender (depth 1/5 standard length or less) . . . 22
21a) predorsal scales enlarged, 18 or fewer rows . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . striped shiner
21b) predorsal scales small, than 19 or more rows..common shiner
22a) Eye small, contained more than 2.7 times (in young) to 3.5
times (in adults) in head length; no black crescents between
nostrils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
22b) Eye large, contained fewer than 2.7 times (in young) to 3.5
times (in adults) in head length, black crescents between
nostrils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . silver shiner
23a) snout short, its length subequal to eye and contained more
than 1.5 times in postorbital length . . . . . . emerald shiner
23b) snout long, its length much longer than eye and contained
less than 1.5 times in postorbital length . . . . rosyface shiner
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SUCKERS, CATOSTOMIDAE
1a) scales 65 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . white sucker
1b) scales fewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2a) head concave between eyes, color dark, mouth round, extended
hog-like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hog sucker
2b) head convex, color paler, mouth not extend hog-likei . . . 3
3a) lateral line obsolete in adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3b Lateral line well developed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4a) mouth subterminal, color pattern striped . . . chubsuckers 5
4b) mouth ventral, color pattern spotted . . . . spotted sucker
5a) lateral scale rows 36-38 . . . . . . . . . . lake chubsucker
5b) lateral scale rows 39-45 . . . . . . . . . creek chubsucker
6a) dorsal fin long, its base about equal to distance form
dorsal origin to occiput, its longest ray reaches from
dorsal origin to eyes; dorsal rays 13-15; dorsal fin margin
convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . silver redhorse
6b) dorsal fin shorter, its base contained about 1.5 times in
dorsal origin to occiput, it longest ray not reaching to
eyes; margin straight or concave; dorsal rays 13 or fewer . . . 7
7a) usually 16 scales around caudal peduncle . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greater redhorse
7b) usually 12 scales around caudal peduncle . . . . . . . . . 8
8a) head short, about 1/5 of standard length..shorthead redhorse
8b) head longer, about 1/4.5 standard length . . . . . . . . . 9
9a) molar teeth on pharyngeal arch . . . . . . . river redhorse
9b) no molar teeth on pharyngeal arch . . . . . . . . . . . 10
10a) lateral line scales 44-46, caudal peduncle slender . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . black redhorse
10b) lateral line scales 42-43, caudal peduncle deep . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . golden redhorse
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BASS AND SUNFISHES, CENTRARCHIDAE
1a) anal fin spines 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1b) anal fin spines 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2a) dorsal spines 10-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rock bass
2b) dorsal spines 6-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3a) dorsal fin base longer than distance from eye to dorsal fin
origin, 7 or 8 dorsal spines . . . . . . . . . . . black crappie
3b) dorsal fin base shorter than distance from eye to dorsal fin
origin, 6 dorsal spines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . white crappie
4a) body slender, depth about 1/3 standard length . . . bass 5
4b) body deeper, depth 1/3 -1/2 standard length . . sunfishes 6
5a) mouth large, maxilla reaches to back of eye in adults, to
back of pupil in young, longest dorsal spines almost 2x as
long as short spines in adult, posterior 1/3 of caudal fin
dark except at edge in young . . . . . . . . . . largemouth bass
5b) maxilla reaches to below pupil, dorsal spines shorter,
posterior 1/3 of caudal fin pale in young . . . . smallmouth bass
6a) pectoral fin rounded and short, does not reach near spines.7
6b) pectoral fin long and pointed, nearly reaches spines . . . 9
7a) teeth on tongue, supramaxilla longer than greatest width of
maxilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . warmouth sunfish
7b) no teeth on tongue, supra maxilla shorter than greatest
width of maxilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8a) longest dorsal fin spine shorter than maxilla, gill rakers
long . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . green sunfish
8b) longest dorsal fin spine longer than maxilla, gill rakers
short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . longear sunfish
9a) opercle spot black with small red (pale in preservation)
crescent at margin, gill rakers short, their length about 2x
width, pharyngeal teeth molariform . . . . . . . . . pumpkinseed
9b) opercle black to edges, gill rakers long, their length about
3X width, pharyngeal teeth pointed . . . . . . . . . . bluegill
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PERCH, WALLEYE, AND DARTERS: PERCIDAE
1a) mouth large, preopercle serrated . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1b) mouth small, preopercle nearly smooth-edged . . . . . . . 3
2a) canine teeth present, more than 18 dorsal rays . . . walleye
2b) no canine teeth, fewer than 13 dorsal rays . . yellow perch
3a) one small, week anal spine, body slender, its depth
contained 7-10 times in standard length . . northern sand darter
3b) usually two anal spines, body deeper, its depth contained
fewer than 7 times in standard length . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4a) nose with a peak-like anterior projection, more than 75
lateral scale rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . logperch
4b) nose not extended in a peak, fewer than 75 lateral scale
rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5a) large black blotches along sides . . . . . blackside darter
5b) bars or spots on sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6a) dorsal spines 12-14 . . . . . . . . . . . greenside darter
6b) dorsal spines fewer than 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7a) caudal peduncle deeper than 1/2 its length, 10-15 dark bands
or saddles, males with pads on dorsal spines. . . fantail darter
7b) caudal peduncle slender, 1/2 -1/3 its length, no pads on
dorsal spines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8a) color tan with small black "w"s on sides, breeding males
black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . johnny darter
8b) sides banded, never solid black . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
9a) lateral line with 0-8 pores, 5-8 dorsal spines, fewer than
40 lateral scale rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . least darter
9b) lateral line with more than 8 pores, 8 or more dorsal
spines, more than 40 lateral scale rows . . . . . . . . . . . 10
10a) cheeks with scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iowa darter
10b) cheeks without scales . . . . . . . . . . . rainbow darter