Catostomidae
Longlip Jumprock
Moxostoma albidum
FISH SPECIES
Freshwater Fish
Freshwater fish spend all or part of their lives in rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. The label describes an environment, not one branch of the fish family tree, so freshwater species include many unrelated shapes and lineages.
FISH ATLAS / FIELD GUIDEFreshwater FishIN THIS CHAPTER01 / Characteristics02 / Lifestyle03 / Species04 / Field notes
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01 / NATURAL HISTORY
Characteristics
Freshwater habitats contain far less salt than seawater and can change quickly with seasons, floods and drought. Fish living there use many different strategies, from streamlined bodies for current to barbels that help find food near the bottom.
- 01River fish
- 02Lake fish
- 03Stream fish
02 / LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle
Life in freshwater follows the movement of water and food. Some fish hold position in a current and intercept drifting prey; others search plants or sediment for a meal. Changes in flow and water level can open feeding grounds or trigger movements toward spawning areas. These behaviors reflect how fish balance hydrodynamic energy expenditure against food intake.
OBSERVATION INDEX
- Holding position in a current
- Feeding among plants or sediment
- Movement with changing water levels
03 / SPECIES
Representative species
Discover representative species illustrating the ecological diversity, morphologies and adaptations of this group.
Longlip Jumprock
Gobionidae
Longnose Barbel
Hemibarbus longirostris
Cyprinidae
longnose dace
Rhinichthys cataractae
Percidae
Longnose darter
Percina nasuta
Terapontidae
Longnose grunter
Syncomistes trigonicus
Akysidae
Longnose little warty catfish
Parakysis longirostris
Cobitidae
Longnose Loach
Acantopsis octoactinotos
Mormyridae
Longnose stonebasher
Gnathonemus longibarbis
Loricariidae
Longnose Whiptail
Sturisoma barbatum
Callichthyidae
Longsnout corydoras
Corydoras treitlii
Distichodontidae
Longsnout distichodus
Distichodus lusosso
Syngnathidae
longsnouted pipefish
Microphis martensii
Loricariidae
Longspined Cactus Pleco
Pseudacanthicus major
Sternopygidae
Longtail knifefish
Sternopygus macrurus
Mastacembelidae
Longtail spiny eel
Mastacembelus frenatus
Mochokidae
Longtail suckermouth
Chiloglanis asymetricaudalis
Nothobranchiidae
lonnberg's aphyosemion
Aphyosemion loennbergii
Cyprinidae
Lookup
Culter alburnus
Terapontidae
Lorentz's grunter
Pingalla lorentzi
Acestrorhamphidae
Loreto tetra
Hyphessobrycon loretoensis
Loricariidae
loricariid catfish
Spatuloricaria atratoensis
Dorosomatidae
Losera fangtooth pellonuline
Odaxothrissa losera
Catostomidae
Lost River sucker
Deltistes luxatus
Amblycipitidae
Lotic Catfish
Liobagrus marginatus
04 / FIELD NOTES
A closer look
What makes a fish freshwater?
It is recorded from inland waters with low salinity for all or part of its life cycle.
Are all freshwater fish closely related?
No. Freshwater is a habitat category that includes many separate evolutionary groups.
Can freshwater fish survive in seawater?
Most cannot; without physiological adaptations to excrete excess salt, their cells rapidly lose water through osmosis and dehydrate in hypertonic seawater.