Fish Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ fish species — freshwater, saltwater, reef, and pelagic — with habitat, size, diet, behavior, and how to tell them apart.
Buffalo Head Cichlid
A stocky, bottom-dwelling cichlid from the fast rapids of the Congo River, the buffalo head cichlid is named for the pronounced fatty hump that develops on the forehead of mature males.
freshwaterZebra Seahorse
A small, boldly striped seahorse endemic to northern Australian waters, patterned with fine dark bands that give it a distinctly zebra-like appearance.
reef
Waspfish
A camouflaged, spiny bottom-dweller with fan-like pectoral fins and a mottled reddish-brown pattern, resting on sand or rubble near reefs across the Indo-Pacific.
saltwaterTadpole Cod
The tadpole cod is a tiny, translucent Gadiform fish named for its tadpole-like shape, found in warm surface waters worldwide and distinguished by its thread-like forward pelvic fins.
pelagic
Smalltooth Sawfish
A Critically Endangered ray-relative with a long, tooth-lined saw-like snout, once common in warm western Atlantic coastal waters but now greatly reduced in range.
cartilaginousRibbon Halfbeak
An extraordinarily thin, ribbon-shaped halfbeak of the open ocean, with a long needle-like lower jaw and greatly elongated fins that let it skitter and glide across the surface.
pelagic
Plains Killifish
A slender, sand-colored killifish adapted to the wide, shallow, shifting-sand rivers of the North American Great Plains, marked with narrow dark vertical bars.
freshwater
Porkfish
A bright yellow Caribbean grunt marked by two bold black diagonal stripes across the head, forming large schools that shelter near reef structure by day.
reef
Platy
A small, compact livebearer native to Mexico and Central America, the platy is prized for its bright colors, peaceful nature, and ease of breeding in home aquariums.
freshwater
Petrale Sole
A slender, plain light-brown northeastern Pacific flatfish, more closely related to flounders than true soles, favoring sandy continental shelf bottoms.
saltwater
Pelican Eel
A deep-sea fish named for its enormous pelican-like pouch of a mouth, which it can expand to engulf prey and water, then slowly expel excess water while retaining any captured prey.
deepsea
Mottled Sculpin
A small, mottled brown freshwater sculpin found in clear, cold streams and lakes across North America, identified by its large head, wide pectoral fins, and lack of scales.
freshwater
Megrim
A slender, left-eyed flatfish of the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, valued commercially and recognizable by its thin, elongated body and large mouth.
saltwater
Ohio Lamprey
The Ohio lamprey is a parasitic, jawless fish native to medium and large rivers of the eastern United States, attaching to host fish with a toothed sucking disc to feed.
freshwater
Ocean Pout
An eel-like bottom-dweller of the northwestern Atlantic, the Ocean Pout produces natural antifreeze proteins that let it stay active in near-freezing winter waters.
saltwater
Ornate Bichir
A striking Central African freshwater fish with an eel-like body covered in an intricate leopard-spot network pattern and a row of spiny finlets along its back.
freshwater
Ling
The ling is a long, eel-shaped member of the cod family found on deep rocky reefs of the northeastern Atlantic, distinguished by its elongated fins and single chin barbel.
saltwater
Least Brook Lamprey
The least brook lamprey is one of the smallest lamprey species in North America, a non-parasitic freshwater fish found in small streams of the central and southeastern United States.
freshwater
Longtooth Grouper
A large brownish grouper found from southern Japan to the South China Sea, mottled with faint darker blotches and named for its prominent elongated canine teeth.
reef
Lake Sturgeon
The lake sturgeon is a large, armored, long-lived freshwater fish native to the Great Lakes and Mississippi basin, recognizable by its bony scute rows and shovel-shaped snout.
freshwater
Lemon Sole
A thick-bodied northeastern Atlantic flatfish with smooth, slippery, mottled reddish-brown skin, a small mouth, and a preference for firm sand or gravel seabeds.
saltwater
Hammerhead Shark
A shark instantly recognizable by its flattened, laterally extended hammer-shaped head, often seen in large daytime schools near seamounts and coastal areas.
cartilaginous
Hedgehog Seahorse
One of the spiniest seahorses, the Hedgehog Seahorse is covered in numerous sharp, elongated body spines that give it a distinctly bristled silhouette against reef rubble.
reef
Halfbeak
The common name for slender, surface-swimming fish of the family Hemiramphidae, marked by a short upper jaw and a long, needle-like lower jaw; the Common Halfbeak represents the group.
saltwater