Missouri State Fish
Channel Catfish (common name) Ictalurus punctatus (scientific name) Overview North America's most numerous catfish, the channel catfish, is a whiskered bottom-feeder and one of the country’s largest fish. It has very flavorful meat, which makes it a favorite of both anglers and fish farmers who raise millions of the fish every year. In 1997, the channel catfish was adopted as the official state fish of Missouri and Nebraska, and the state commercial fish of Tennessee. This bottom-dwelling fish is olive brown to slate blue on the back and sides with many small black spots and a silver-white belly. Channel catfish and blue catfish are distinguished from other "flathead catfish" by their deeply forked tail fin, their large size, and an upper jaw that projects over the lower jaw. Channel catfish have a very acute sense of smell and can detect odors as diluted as 1 part per 100 million in water. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Length: Up to 4 ft (130 cm);average of 2 ft (65 cm) Weight: Up to 58 lbs (26 kg);average of 3 lbs (1.4 kg) LIFESPAN Up to 14 years HABITAT Large, deep streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and ponds—especially those with slow-moving water and sand, gravel, or rubble bottoms. Channel catfish are most abundant in large rivers with low or moderate current. Range: Throughout the eastern and central United States (apart from most of the coastal plain north of Florida), southern Canada, and parts of northern Mexico. Water type: Fresh and occasionally brackish Water temp: 75-80°F (24-26°C) Conservation Status: Secure DIET Channel catfish eat insect larvae, small fish, freshwater shrimp, snails, crayfish, frogs, crabs, mollusks, and aquatic plants. They locate food through their keen senses of smell and taste, as well as by probing the bottom with their "whiskers." REPRODUCTION Fertilization: External Spawning frequency: May-June Mating behavior: Distinct pairing Egg laying: Males select nest sites and guard the eggs. Nests are built in undercut riverbanks, tree roots, drift piles, under rock ledges, or in sunken debris. The female deposits a mass of 2,000 to 21,000 golden eggs at the bottom of the nest. The male will then fertilize the eggs, and the eggs will hatch in 6 to 10 days, depending on water temperature. USES Sport fishing, aquaculture OTHER NAMES Channel cat, Great Lakes catfish, willow cat, forked-tail cat, spotted cat, lady cat TRIVIA Catfish are named for the "barbels" on their mouth that look like cat's whiskers. Young channel catfish are called "fiddlers." In the United States, some eight million anglers pursue channel catfish every year. The popularity of channel catfish as food directly contributed to the rapid growth of aquaculture of this species in the United States. Catfish do not have teeth and swallow their prey whole. Males may actually eat some of the eggs they are guarding if they are disturbed.
	Click to enlarge an image Illustration of Channel Catfish Whiskered Channel Catfish School of Juvenile Channel Catfish CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Family: Ictaluridae Genus: Ictalurus Species: I. punctatus
	Raw Data Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Author: World Trade Press

Missouri State Fish
Paddlefish (common name) Polyodon spathula (scientific name) Overview The paddlefish is a prehistoric throwback found only in the river basins of the central United States. Resembling a large catfish, it has a very long, flat, spatula-like snout. These prehistoric rarities were historically found in the Great Lakes region and had relatives in the Yangtze River in China, but the paddlefish is now extinct in both of these regions. They are threatened in their current habitats by the damming of rivers, dredging, lower water levels, fishing, and increased water temperatures. Like sturgeon caviar, the eggs ("roe") of the paddlefish are considered delicacies, and the fish are sometimes illegally harvested for them. The paddlefish is a marvel of nature. The snout is almost one third of the fish's entire length and is used to find plankton, which it then guides into its gaping mouth and filters with "gill rakers." Paddlefish physically resemble sharks in that they are large and gray, their skeletons are primarily composed of cartilage, they have no scales, and they have deeply forked tail fins. In contrast to its enormous size, the paddlefish has tiny eyes. The gills are distinctive and have a long, tapering cover that comes to a point. In 1997, Missouri designated the paddlefish its official aquatic animal. Close-up STATUS Official ALSO KNOWN AS Spoonbill, spoonbill catfish, shovelnose catfish. PHYSICAL DETAILS    Males Females Size Up to 5 ft (1.5 m); average of 30 in (76 cm) Up to 5 ft (1.5 m); average of 30 in (76 cm) Weight Up to 143 lbs (65 kg); average of 60 lbs (27 kg) Up to 143 lbs (65 kg); average of 60 lbs (27 kg) LIFESPAN Up to 50 years HABITAT Large, slow-moving rivers and reservoirs at depths of four feet (130 cm) or more. Range: River systems of the central United States from the Yellowstone and Oklahoma rivers in the west, through the Des Moines, Missouri, Ohio, and Mississippi river systems in the Midwest and south. Water type: Freshwater Water temp:  50–60°F (10–15°C) Elevation: Up to 1,000 feet above sea level Conservation Status: Vulnerable DIET Plankton REPRODUCTION Fertilization: External Spawning Frequency: March–June Mating Behavior: Group Egg Laying: Paddlefish need free-flowing rivers that have shallow pools with sandy or gravelly bottoms for spawning. Male paddlefish spawn when they are four to nine years old. Females spawn when they are six to 12 years old and can release as many as 500,000 eggs. Males and females gather in schools over gravel or sandbars, where females lay their eggs and males release their milt. USES Sport fish, caviar TRIVIA Paddlefish are believed to pre-date the dinosaurs. There is evidence that they have existed for over 300 million years, making them the oldest living animals in North America. The paddlefish’s genus name is the Greek word polyodon, which means "many teeth." This refers to the paddlefish's gill rakers (they have no actual teeth). The species name,spathula, is Latin for "spatula." It is against the law to catch, harm, or kill a paddlefish in Texas.
	Click to enlarge an image Illustration of a Paddlefish Paddlefish in the Wild Juvenile Paddlefish Paddlefish About to be Released CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Subclass: Osteichthyes Order: Acipenseriformes Family: Polyodontidae Genus: Polyodon Species: P.spathula
	Data Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Author: World Trade Press