Fishes of Pennsylvania
Introduction to the Nekton
Fishes of Pennsylvania
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lampreys
Sturgeons
Paddlefish
Gars
Bowfin
American Eel
Herrings
Minnows
Suckers
Catfishes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pikes
Rainbow Smelt
Trout and Salmon
Burbot
Banded Killifish
Threespine Stickleback
Sculpin
Temperate Basses
Sunfishes
Perches
Freshwater Drum
171 total sp. in PA?
Major Streams of Pennsylvania
Lampreys
• American Brook Lamprey
Lampetra appendix
• Larvae filter feed
• Adult does not feed. The
Sea Lamprey (in Great
Lakes) and the Ohio
Lamprey (western PA) are
parasitic. The three
native PA Brook Lampreys
are not parasitic.
Sturgeons
• The Lake Sturgeon –
Acipenser fulvescens- is
the only freshwater
sturgeon in PA. It is found
in Lake Erie.
• The Shortnose Sturgeon
and the Atlantic Sturgeon
are marine and tidal fish
that may occur in the
lower Delaware River.
• All PA sturgeons are
endangered
Paddlefish
• Paddlefish –Polydon
spathula- only living
species.
• Extirpated from former
ranges in western PA
and Lake Erie.
• PA Fish and Boat
Commission
reintroduced them to
the Ohio and Allegheny
Rivers.
Gar
• Two gar species occur in
PA: The Spotted Gar
and the Longnose Gar.
• The Longnose Gar –
Lepidosteus osseus- is in
low numbers through
the lower Great Lakes,
western PA and
extreme lower
Susquehanna River.
Bowfin
• Bowfin – Amia calvia
• Found mainly around
Presque Isle and in the
lower parts of the major
drainages.
• Can tolerate very warm
water and gulp air.
American Eel
• The American Eel –
Anguila americana –
occurs in the Delaware
River drainage.
• Now attempts are being
made to return the eel
to the Susquehanna
River
Herrings
• This family includes Blueback
Herring, Alewife, Gizzard Shad,
Hickory Shad, and American
Shad.
• The American Shad –Alosa
sapidissima- anadromous fish
that enter mainstem of large
rivers to spawn.
• Attempts to support shad run
in the Susquehanna River
• In rivers, shad eat small
crustaceans, zooplankton,
worms, insects, and small fish
Minnows
• PA has 39 species of
minnows, including
exotics like Carp and
Goldfish.
• The minnows of
Pennsylvania include:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Bluntnose Minnow
Cutlips Minnow
Central Stoneroller
Emerald Shiner
Hornyhead Chub
Grass Carp
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Common Carp
Common Shiner
River Chub
Golden Shiner
Fathead Minnow
Spotfin Shiner
Rosyface Shiner
Blacknose Dace
Longnose Dace
Creek Chub
Fallfish
Bluntnose Minnow
• Bluntnose Minnow
(Pimephales notatus)
• Scales crowded within
predorsal area
• Narrow even stripe along
sides w/ small distinct
spot at base of tail
• Tolerant of silt
• Feeds on bottom ooze,
midges, cladocerans
Cutlips Minnow
• Cutlips Minnow
(Exoglossum maxillingua)
• Lower lip in three lobes,
the center of which looks
like a tongue
• Stony pools of clean
streams
• Mainly feed on small
mollusks, insects, and
diatoms
Central Stoneroller
• Central Stoneroller
(Campostoma anomalum)
• Undistinguished minnow
• Cartilaginous ridge at lower
lip
• Likes riffles
• Scrapes algae off stones;
midges
Emerald Shiner
• Emerald Shiner (Notropis
atherinoides)
• Slender minnow; no barbels; >10
anal fin rays
• Big water; near surface sp.
• Populations fluctuate greatly year
to year
• Plankton cropper; protozoans;
insect larvae
Hornyhead Chub
• Horneyhead Chub (Nocomis
biguttatus)
• Well developed terminal barbels
• Diamond pattern dark margins of
scales
• Breeding tubercules cover the head
thus give name
• Prefer clean water and clean gravel
bottom
• Feed on variety of plant and animals
Grass Carp
• Grass Carp ( Ctenopharyngodon
idella); “White Amur”
• Introduced sp.; large size (25 lbs)
• Stocked in 1963
• Live in lakes, ponds, streams
• Can live in brackish waters
• Herbivores used for aquatic
weed control
• 35 states have outlawed their
importation and release
Common Carp
• The Common Carp
(Cyprinus carpio)
• Native to Asia and
eastern Europe;
considered invasive in
some watersheds
• Found in many habitats,
but prefer slow-moving
water with a welldeveloped littoral zone
Common Shiner
• Common Shiner
(Luxilus cornutus)
• Moving water, warm to
cold
• Very common in North
America, east of the Rocky
Mountains and North of
the Gulf states
• Omnivore: plants and
insects mainly at or near
the surface
River Chub
• River Chub (Nocomis micropogon)
• Large minnow; deep caudal
peduncle
• Crosshatched pattern
• Breeding tubercles only on top of
head vs. Hornyhead Chub
• Large clean creeks and rivers
• Males build large nests
• Feed on plankton, algae, insect
larvae
Golden Shiner
• Golden Shiner (Notemigonus
crysoleucas); Abraminae
• Compressed; deep bodied; long
anal fin w/lobe
• Deep lateral line; gold color
• Fleshy scaleless keel in front of anus
• Slow water w/vegetation
• Plankton croppers; insect larvae;
small fish
Fathead Minnow
• Fathead Minnow (Pimephales
promelas)
• Stubby; heavy body; small mouth;
incomplete lateral line
• Males develop thick fatty pad on head;
row 3 large tubercles on snout
• Ponds and slow streams; tolerant
• Males groom eggs with dorsal pad
• Territorial with other males
• Feed on algae, bottom detritus, insect
larvae, zooplankton
Spotfin Shiner
• Spotfin Shiner
(Cyprinella spiloptera)
• Common in streams
throughout the east
• Omnivore: plants,
insects, small fish near
the surface
Roseyface Shiner
• Roseyface Shiner (Notropis rubellus)
• Breeding males have bright red heads
and pectoral fins
• Slender; silvery; pointed snout
• Confused with emerald, comely, silver
shiners
• Large to moderate streams with swift
currents
• Feed on aquatic and terrestrial
insects
Blacknose Dace
• Blacknose Dace (Rhinichthys
atratulus)
• Distinct midlateral stripes w/short
snout
• Breeding males w/pale gold stripe
and bright orange pectoral rays
• Lives in clear small streams, large and
headwater streams
• Feeds on aquatic insect larvae
w/some diatoms and desmids
Longnose Dace
• Longnose Dace
(Rhinichthyes cataractae)
• In streams with riffles
and pools
• Mainly staying near the
bottom where they feed
on insect larvae,
particularly chironomids
Creek Chub
• Creek Chub (Semotilus
atromaculatus)
• Elongate; large head and mouth
• Conspicuous spot at front of dorsal
fin base
• Sentinel species for AMD
• Juveniles have a conspicuous mid
dorsal stripe
• Breeding males have tubercles
• Tolerant sp.; often with black spot
• Generalized sight feeder- animals
and plant materials
Fallfish
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fallfish (Semotilus corporalis)
Largest native minnow in NE
Large scales; falcate tail
Dark crescent shaped scales
Clear streams, ponds, lakes
Male builds large nests of
gravel- 4 feet diameter
• Plant and animal plankton to
aquatic flies and terrestrial
insects
Suckers
•
•
•
•
Quillback Carpsucker
White Sucker
Northern Hog Sucker
The Redhorses
– River Redhorse
– Shorthead Redhorse
Quillback Carpsucker
• The Quillback Carpsucker
(Carpoides cyprinus)
• Body is deep and laterally
compressed
• They travel in schools in
slow-moving rivers and
backwaters with gravel
bottoms.
• Eat a wide variety of
benthic
macroinvertebrates
White Sucker
• The White Sucker
(Catostomus commersoni)
• Cylindrical body with a
rounded snout
• Range from headwaters
to warm, low oxygen
water.
• They are omnivores,
feeding on plants,
zooplankton, benthos
Northern Hog Sucker
• The Northern Hogsucker
(Hypentelium nigricans)
• The body is cylindrical
and darkly camouflaged
• Found in clean streams
• Overturn rock while
scraping biofilm, and
aquatic
macroinvertebrates
River Redhorse
• River Redhorse (Moxostoma
carinatum)
• Moderately long head and plicate
lips without cross folds; red fins
• Caudal fin forked; anal fin pointed or
rounded
• Fish of large streams with moderate
to swift currents w/o silty bottom
• Feed on mollusks and insects
Shorthead Redhorse
• Shorthead Redhorse
(Moxostoma m. macrolepidotum
• Has a short head; distinctive lips
with folds broken by cross
grooves into large papillae
• Dark spots at base of scales; pink
tails
• Prefers moderate to large
streams with swift flow; lakes
• Food is benthic insect larvae
Catfishes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
White Catfish
Yellow Bullhead
Brown Bullhead
Channel Catfish
Margined Madtom
Stonecat
Flathead Catfish
White Catfish
• White Catfish (Ictalurus catus)
• Has a free adipose fin; forked tail vs.
bullheads
• White has no spots and a
moderately forked tail channel has
spots and deeply forked tail
• Occurs in FW lakes and ponds
prefers estuarine waters
• Feed on a variety of fishes and fish
eggs; insects, crustaceans, algae
Yellow Bullhead
• Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus natalis)
• Flag like adipose fin; round tail; long
anal fin; white chin barbels
• Prefers ponds and streams including
small brooks with clear water and
vegetation
• Intolerant of silty bottoms
• Generalized bottom and near
bottom feeder- crustaceans,
molluscs, immature aquatic insects,
fishes
• Feeds mostly at night
Brown Bullhead
• Brown Bullhead
(Ameiurus nebulosus)
• Cylindrical body with
flattened head
• Found in lakes, ponds
and slow-moving rivers
• Tolerate warm water
and low oxygen
• Omnivorous
Channel Catfish
• Channel Catfish
(Ictalurus punctatus)
• Body cylindrical with
spots on the sides
• Habitats vary; fast-moving
water to deep pools,
reservoirs, lakes, and
farm ponds
• Young eat insects but
change to fish and plants
as they get larger
Margined Madtom
• Margined Madtom
(Noturus insignis)
• Small, tubular fish; have
poison glands
associated with pectoral
spines
• Found in rocks in riffles
• Feed on benthic
macroinvertebrates
Stonecat
• Stonecat (Noturus flavus)
• Adnate vs. adnexed adipose fin
• Slender w/flat head w/no distinct
markings
• Pectoral spines are smooth w/o
large serrations on posterior
edge
• Swift parts of larger streams with
cobbles and rock slabs
• Feeds on molluscs, insects,
crayfish
Flathead Catfish
• Flathead Catfish (Pilodictis
olivaris)
• Lower jaw always longer than
upper jaw
• Posterior tail margin straight
• Head wide and notably flattened
between eyes; large adipose fin
• Found in sluggish, long, deep low
gradient parts of large streams
• Fish; any prey smaller than them
Pikes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Redfin Pickerel
Grass Pickerel
Northern Pike
Tiger Muskellunge
Muskellunge
Chain Pickerel
Redfin Pickerel
• Redfin Pickerel ( Esox a. americanus)
• Small w/ short snout
• Stays with fins orange or red
throughout year
• Has notched or heart-shaped scales on
the sides
• Lives in weedy streams, lakes, ponds
w/sluggish flow
• Prey consists of larger insect nymphs,
crayfish, snails, crustaceans, fishes
Grass Pickerel
• Grass Pickerel (Esox
americanus vermiculatus)
• Cheeks and gill covers
completely scaled; short snout
• Dorsal profile of snout- redfin
convex; concave in grass
• Slow moving heavily vegetated
streams and lakes and ponds
• Small invertebrates; fish;
crayfish as they get larger
Northern Pike
• Northern Pike ( Esox lucius)
• Scale pattern on side of headfully scaled
• Pores on lower jaw- 3-6
• Dark green above shading to
white below
• Occurs in weedy parts of rivers,
ponds, lakes
• Carnivorous and specialized
feeders of large fish; crayfish;
vertebrates
Muskellunge
• The Muskellunge
(Esox masquinongy)
• Tubular fish, nearly
1.5M long
• Found in large clean
rivers with submerged
vegetation
• Ambush predator
Tiger Muskellunge
• Tiger Muskellunge is a
muskellunge x northern pike
hybrid
• Stocked due to rapid growth
and low reproductive
potential
Chain Pickerel
• The Chain Pickerel
(Esox niger)
• Tubular body
• Can be found in
backwaters and in
brown-water habitats;
but can be found in
deep lakes among
weeds and stumps
• Ambush predators
Rainbow Smelt
• The Rainbow Smelt
(Osmerus mordax)
• Like a minnow with
strong teeth; adipose fin
• Anadromous fish
introduced to the Great
Lakes
• Feed on insects;
crustaceans; marine
worms; fish fry
Trout and Salmon
•
•
•
•
•
Coho Salmon
Chinook Salmon
Pink Salmon
Rainbow Trout
Steelhead
•
•
•
•
•
Golden Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout
Brook trout
Lake trout
Atlantic Salmon
Brook Trout
• The Brook Trout
(Salvelinus fontinalis)
• Official State Fish of PA
• Only stream trout
native to PA
• Low order cold, clean
streams
• Feed on aquatic and
terrestrial insects,
crustaceans, small fish
Rainbow Trout
• Rainbow Trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss)
• Introduced species
• Lighter than the Brook
and has a red lateral line
• In fastwater streams
• Feed on aquatic and
terrestrial insects,
crustaceans, and small
fish
Burbot
• Burbot (Lota lota)
• Endangered native and
member of the Cod
family
• Found in the Great
Lakes and Allegheny
River; requires cold,
clean water
• Feed on invertebrates
and fishes
Banded Killifish
• The Banded Killifish
(Fundulus diaphanus)
• Established in most
drainages in PA
• Called topminnnow, but
feed at all levels of slowmoving parts of streams
• Eat macroinvertebrates,
mainly insects and
crustacea. Will take small
fish.
Threespine Stickleback
• The Threespine Stickleback
(Gasterosteous aculeatus)
• Endangered native
• Fish are small, schooling fish
with bony plates on their
sides
• Require clean, clear water in
slow-moving parts of streams
• Eat fish fry and eggs; insects
and crustaceans
Sculpins
• There are two species
of sculpins in PA waters:
Mottled Sculpin (Cottus
bairdi) and Slimy
Sculpin (C. cognatus)
• Freshwater members of
a mostly marine family
• Often found together
with Brook Trout;
require clean, clear, cold
low order streams
Temperate Basses
• This family includes White
Perch (Morone americana),
White Bass (M. chrysops),
and Striped Bass (M.
saxatilis)
• Fish of large rivers and
lakes; introduced into
reservoirs
• Travel in schools and feed
on fish
Sunfishes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Redear Sunfish
Banded Sunfish
Blackbanded Sunfish
Bluespotted Sunfish
Warmouth
Mud Sunfish
Longear Sunfish
Rock Bass
Redbreast Sunfish
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Green Sunfish
Pumpkinseed
Bluegill
Smallmouth Bass
Spotted Bass
Largemouth Bass
White Crappie
Black Crappie
Redear Sunfish
• Redear Sunfish (Lepomis
microlophus); introduced sp.
• Small mouth; posterior end of upper
jaw extends almost to anterior edge
of eye
• Flexible black centered opercle flap
• Pectoral fin very long, pointed; soft
anal, dorsal fins w/o definite spots
• Mostly non-flowing clear waters
w/vegetation
• Feed on snails, small mussels,
insects, fishes
Bluegill
• Bluegill (Lepomis
macrochirus)
• Oval deep body that is
laterally-flattened
• In lakes, ponds, and slowmoving parts of streams
with submerged plants
• Eat aquatic
macroinvertebrates, small
fish, and, occasionally,
plants
Pumpkinseed
• Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)
• Long pointed pectoral fin;
opercular flap w/pale margin
w/red sector; stiff
• Sides w/patches of dark scales
• Streams, small ponds, slower parts
of large rivers
• Opportunistic feeder- insects,
amphipods, molluscs, larval
salamanders, fish
Redbreast Sunfish
• Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis
auritus)
• Short, rounded pectoral fin
• Opercular flap dark to margin
• Fish of standing waters and slow
streams even slightly brackish
• Feeds on plankton and a variety
of aquatic insects and other
invertebrates
Green Sunfish
• Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus)
• Large mouth; small scales
• Short, rounded pectoral fin; pale
margin on opercular flap
• Lives in wide range of habitats- small
streams and ditches to larger rivers,
lakes, ponds; w/vegetation
• Tolerates turbid waters
• Feeds on insects, mollusks, small
fishes
Longear Sunfish
• Longear Sunfish (Lepomis
megalotis); introduced
• Stouter w/short, rounded
pectoral fin not long and pointed
like pumpkinseed
• Opercule flexible not stiff like
pumpkinseed; color
• Likes weedy areas in larger
streams
• Feeds on small invertebrates
Warmouth
• Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus)
• Looks like a rock bass but has 3,
NOT 5 or 6 anal spines
• Short rounded pectoral fins
• Patches of well developed teeth
on the tongue
• Likes clear waters, dense weeds,
soft bottom
• Feeds on crayfish, insects other
invertebrates
Smallmouth Bass
• The Smallmouth Bass
(Micropterus dolomieu)
• Native to Great Lakes and
Ohio Valley; distributed
elsewhere; PA invasive
• Require rocky habitats,
usually in, but not
restricted to, moving
water
• Feed on crustaceans and
fish
Largemouth Bass
• Largemouth Bass
(Micropterus salmoides)
• Native to Great Lakes and
Ohio Valley, now distributed
throughout PA
• Prefer warm water habitats;
ponds and small lakes with
submerged aquatics
• They eat almost any animal
that they can fit into their
mouths
Spotted Bass
• Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus)
• Only described by Hubbs in 1927;
introduced
• Known to hybridize with SMB
• Blotched, speckled, stripe-sided
• Low first dorsal fin; not deeply
emarginate
• Low, clear, warm moderately turbid and
gradient streams and rivers
• Small fish feed on microcrustaceans
and with growth progress to larger
insects, crayfish, fishes
Rock Bass
• Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris)
• Brownish colored w/5 spines on
anal fin
• Juveniles and breeding adults can
have a distinct checkerboard
pattern
• Most abundant in rocky bottom
streams of moderate size; lakes
• Feed on insects, crustaceans, fish
White Crappie
• White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis)
• Compressed rhombic body; long
anal fins; short dorsal fins w/6-8
spines
• More pale than black crappie
• Occur in lakes, ponds and slower
streams
• Tolerate considerable turbidity
and silt
• Feed on aquatic invertebrates and
small fishes
Black Crappie
• Black Crappie (Pomoxis
nigromaculatus)
• Diamond shaped body; more than
3 anal spines
• 7 to 8 dorsal fin spines
• Less tolerant of silt and turbidity
than white; more clear water
w/abundant vegetation
• Young are plankton feeders; older
fish prey on insects and fish at
night
Banded Sunfish
• Banded Sunfish (Enneacanthus
obesus)
• 3 anal spines; rounded vs. forked
tail
• Specific color pattern and scale
counts
• Coastal plain sp. In slow moving,
darkly-stained waters w/vegetation
• Probably feeds on insects and other
small invertebrates (poorly studied)
Bluespotted Sunfish
• Bluespotted Sunfish (Enneacanthus
gloriosus)
• Small <3 inches; deep body; 3 anal
spines; rounded tail
• Closely resembles Banded Sunfish since
young are banded; adults different
• Pale spots in dorsal fin surrounded
w/dark rings
• Slow moving streams, standing waters
w/vegetation and darkly-stained waters
• Feed on snails, copepods, Asellus,
amphipods, insects
Mud Sunfish
• Mud Sunfish (Acantharchus
pomotis)
• Round tail in Mud Sunfish forked
in the Rock Bass
• Smooth scales in MS rough in RB
• Brown eye in MS red eye in RB
• Live in darkly-stained sluggish
streams and lakes with silt or
mud bottoms
• Prey is unknown
Black Banded Sunfish
• Black Banded Sunfish
(Enneacanthus chaetodon)
• Bold black bars; markedly notched
dorsal fin
• Pointed pectoral fin; rounded
caudal fin
• Lives in thickly vegetated ponds,
swamps, pools of creeks and rivers
• Diet is small invertebrates
associated w/aquatic macrophytes
Perches
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Greenside Darter
Banded Darter
Rainbow Darter
Bluebreast Darter
Johnny Darter
Tesselated Darter
Gilt Darter
Spotted Darter
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Longhead Darter
Eastern Sand Darter
Tippecanoe Darter
Yellow Perch
Logperch
Sauger
Saugeye
Walleye
Greenside Darter
• Greenside Darter (Etheostoma
blenniodes)
• Large; blunt head; snout
overhangs mouth
• Have large W’s or V’s on side;
caudal fin emarginate
• Inhabit deep riffles and cobbles
in moderate to large streams
• Feed on mayfly and midge larvae
Banded Darter
• Banded Darter (Etheostoma
zonale)
• Small; conspicuous color pattern of
a series of distinct vertical bands
along side; 2 broad marks
“thumbprints” in front of dorsal fin
• Lives in moderate sized streams
and small rivers with swift current
among gravel, cobbles, boulders
• Prey sp. not reported
Bluebreast Darter
• Bluebreast Darter (Etheostoma
camurum)
• Deep caudal peduncle and a
moderately pointed head
• Deep body rather compressed
• Inhabit larger streams w/low turbidity;
fast flowing sections w/deep riffles
over large cobbles and some sand
• Feeds on mostly benthic insects
(dipteran larvae)
Rainbow Darter
• Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma
caeruleum)
• Heavy-bodied; scaled belly; short
lateral line; males w/red in fins
• Inhabit small creeks to moderate
sized rivers; very much a riffle
species; in gravel/cobble areas
w/fastest currents
• Feed on small mayfly and midge
larvae up to snails and small crayfish
Fantail Darter
• Fantail Darter (Etheostoma flaballare)
• Slender; pointed head; deep caudal
peduncle
• Fine dark crossbands on tail; male
w/fleshy knobs on dorsal fin spines to
groom eggs
• Occur in riffle areas w/cobbles and
gravel; chunks or slabs of limestone
• Variety of invertebrates including
mayflies, caddisflies, dipterans,
crustaceans, snails
Tesselated Darter
• The Tesselated Darter
(Etheostoma olmstedi)
• Tubular body with large
pectoral fins; small X’s
and W’s on side
• Sandy or rock bottom in
flowing water
• Eat small insects and
crustaceans
Johnny Darter
• Johnny Darter (Etheostoma
nigrum)
• Pale w/ X- and W- shaped marks
on sides; one anal fin spine
• Blunter snout than Tessallated
• Occur in a variety of habitats- from
fast flowing to standing waters;
wide variety of bottom types
• Feed on mayfly and midge larvae
Spotted Darter
• Spotted Darter (Etheostoma
maculatum)
• Heay-bodied w/ deep caudal
peduncle; color pattern
narrow, dark longitudinal lines
• Deep fast riffles w/large rocks
and filamentous algae
• Feeds on chiefly aquatic
insects- midges, stoneflies,
• Mayflies, beetles, mites
Shield Darter
• Shield Darter (Percina peltata)
• Midline of rectangular, partly
connected, black blotches down
sides
• Inhabits clear moderate sized
creeks with gravel and rubble
bottom and current
• No food habits studied
Gilt Darter
• Gilt Darter (Percina evides)
• Moderate sized w/well developed
frenulum
• Distinct “neat” appearance with a
row of squarish dorsal blotches,
directly over the equally square
midlateral blotches
• Restricted to moderately fast, deep
and slow riffles in larger streams;
intolerant of slow water and silt
• Prey sp. not known
Longhead Darter
• Longhead Darter (Percina
macrocephala)
• Long head and pointed snout; 1
to 3 dusky spots on each side
of the ventral surface of head
• Lives in moderate sized to
large, clear streams over gravel
and cobble; midwater sp.
• Feeds on crayfish and mayflies
Yellow Perch
• Yellow Perch
(Perca flavescens)
• Throughout the
northern US
• In warm to cool lakes,
ponds, and slow-moving
parts of streams
• Adults eat mainly small
fish
Walleye
• Walleye (Sander vitreus)
• Native to the Great Lakes
and the Ohio Valley, they
have been introduced as a
sport fish to appropriate
habitats in PA
• In large lakes and rivers
• Usually the top predator
Freshwater Drum
• The Freshwater Drum
(Aplodinotus grunniens)
• Called croakers; mainly
from a marine family
• In the Great Lakes and
the western rivers of PA
• Feeds on mollusks,
insects, and crustaceans
Fishes of Small Drainages
Fishes Classified According to Habitat
•
•
•
•
Littoral Zone
Limnetic Zone
Benthic Zone
Streams
– Upper Reaches
– Middle Reaches
– Lower reaches
Fishes Classified According to
Ecological Conditions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Temperature
Light
Water Movement
Food
Social Factors
Population Density
Population Structure