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Bowfin (Amia calva)
Other Names Grindle, Dogfish, Grinnel, Cypress Trout, Mud Fish Description Amia is a Greek name for an unidentified fish, probably the bonito, and calva is Latin meaning "smooth, ...
Bowfin
Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology
primitive freshwater fish found in the Mississippi basin, the Great Lakes, and E to Vermont. The bowfin has a light covering of rounded, overlapping scales, a large mouth, and sharp teeth.
Bowfin
The bowfins are an order (Amiiformes) of primitive ray-finned fish.
Bowfin:
Appearance:
The bowfin is the only living representative of an ancient family of fishes. It has an air-bladder that functions like a lung, and can be seen gulping air.
Bowfin (Amia calve)
The bowfin is a primitive fish that lives in muddy bottomed lakes and marshes. Sometimes called "dogfish," bowfins are often seen gulping air at the surface. They can grow to over 3 feet long.
Bowfin eat fish, crayfish, insects, amphibians, and crustaceans.
Predators
Predatory fish, including bowfin, eat young bowfin.
Bowfin (native)
The bowfin (or dogfish) has a large mouth equipped with many sharp teeth. Its large head has no scales. The dorsal fin is long, extending more than half the length of the back. The tail is rounded.
Discussion The Bowfin, also called mudfish, dogfish, and grinnel, is often thought of as a pest since it consumes the same food items as game fishes.
(Circus cyaneus), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), eastern cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus), alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), garfish (Lepisosteus spp.), bowfin ...
Amiidae, Bowfins
Anguillidae, Freshwater Eels
Amblyopsidae, Cavefishes
Ictaluridae, Catfish
Percopsidae, Trout-Perches
Salmonidae, Trouts
Clupeidae, Herrings
Esocidae, Pikes ...
Another kind of fish that can breathe air is the bowfin (Amia calva) which is in the Holostei. This fish can obtain oxygen from the water using its gills and it can also breathe air through its lung.
 See also: Sturgeon, Catfish, Trout, Salmon, Lamprey
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