bowfin
Grindle or dogfish
A bowfin is a primitive freshwater fish native to eastern North America, the sole surviving member of a family that dates back to the Jurassic period.
It has a long dorsal fin, a rounded tail, and can breathe air, allowing it to survive in stagnant water where other fish would die.
Anglers consider it a nuisance because it's bony and aggressive but not good eating.
Bottom-dwelling swamp fish
Plates or weighing devices
- gillsAquatic respiratory organs
- finsSwimming appendages
- swimbladderFish buoyancy organ
- air-breathingUsing lungs for oxygen
Waterlogged land with vegetation
- bayouMarshy, slow-moving waterway
- backwaterStagnant side channel
- oxbowTight river curve
- sloughBoggy ground or cast-off skin
vegetation · weedy · murky · stagnant · lowland · floodplain · shallow · lake
Organism that consumes others
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- nocturnalActive during darkness
- aggressiveHostile and confrontational
- voraciousExtremely eager to consume
spawning · bottom-dwelling · lurking · territorial · carnivore · opportunistic · strike
Preserved ancient organism
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
- ancientVery old indeed
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- living-fossilUnchanged ancient species
archaic · relict · evolutionary · Mesozoic · ancestral · unchanged · survivor
mudfish
Bottom-dwelling swamp fish
- dogfishSmall cartilaginous fish
- gamefishFish pursued recreationally
- baitfishSmall prey fish for angling
sportfish · fight · rod · tackle · catch · hardy · tenacious · southern
scales
Plates or weighing devices
- gillsAquatic respiratory organs
- finsSwimming appendages
- swimbladderFish buoyancy organ
swamp
Waterlogged land with vegetation
slough · vegetation · weedy · murky · stagnant · lowland · floodplain · shallow · lake · pond
predator
Organism that consumes others
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- nocturnalActive during darkness
- aggressiveHostile and confrontational
voracious · spawning · bottom-dwelling · lurking · territorial · carnivore · opportunistic · strike
fossil
Preserved ancient organism
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
- ancientVery old indeed
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
living-fossil · archaic · relict · evolutionary · Mesozoic · ancestral · unchanged · survivor
- fishcod, salmon, bass, perch, eels
- freshwater fishingfreshwater fish, walleye, crappie, bluegill, perch
- freshwater fishsalmon, trout, bass, catfish, carp
- freshwater lifecatfish, trout, bass, salmon, frog
- swampalligator, bayou, bald cypress, cattail, cottonmouth
- Evergladessawgrass, alligator, mangrove forest, Florida panther, cypress swamp
bowfinmarine fish
Sea-dwelling aquatic creature
saltwater fish · deep-sea fish · tuna · marlin · coral reef fish