Bowfin

Amia calva

Bowfin. Photo:Duane Raver, USFWS

Although you are likely to never see this species, the bowfin is special in that it is the sole living species from the order Amiiformes, a transitional order that is closely related to the gars, but also exhibits many characteristics of the more modern teleost fishes. The bowfin is found in swampy bays of warm lakes and rivers of the St. Lawrence valley. This species is considered particularly hardy and can survive in habitats that are unsuitable to other piscivorous (fish-eating) fish like bass and pike, partially because it is capable of breathing oxygen directly from the air!