Acestrorhamphidae
Meunier's Jupiaba
Jupiaba meunieri
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.
Meunier's Jupiaba
Dinematichthyidae
Mexican blind brotula
Typhlias pearsei
Dinematichthyidae
Mexican blind brotula
Typhliasina pearsei
Ictaluridae
Mexican Blindcat
Prietella phreatophila
Gobiesocidae
Mexican Clingfish
Gobiesox mexicanus
Batrachoididae
Mexican Freshwater Toadfish
Batrachoides goldmani
Salmonidae
Mexican Golden Trout
Oncorhynchus chrysogaster
Hemiramphidae
Mexican halfbeak
Hyporhamphus mexicanus
Gerreidae
Mexican Mojarra
Eugerres mexicanus
Cyprinidae
Mexican Red Shiner
Cyprinella rutila
Catostomidae
Mexican Redhorse
Moxostoma austrinum
Rivulidae
Mexican Rivulus
Millerichthys robustus
Cyprinidae
Mexican Roundtail Chub
Gila minacae
Acestrorhamphidae
Mexican tetra
Psalidodon rutilus
Poeciliidae
Michoacan livebearer
Poeciliopsis scarlli
Osphronemidae
Midas Betta
Betta midas
Cichlidae
Midas cichlid
Amphilophus citrinellus
Terapontidae
Midgley's grunter
Pingalla midgleyi
Auchenipteridae
midnight catfish
Auchenipterichthys coracoideus
Cyprinidae
Midspot barb
Enteromius stigmatopygus
Malapteruridae
Mijiriya
Malapterurus minjiriya
Acestrorhamphidae
Mikia Tetra
Moenkhausia mikia
Petromyzontidae
Miller Lake lamprey
Entosphenus minimus
Cichlidae
Millet
Crenicichla alta
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.