Bowfin
Amia calva
Bowfin are hardy freshwater fish of weedy lakes, swamps, sloughs, and slow rivers across eastern North America. They are ambush predators that lurk among vegetation and snap up fish, crayfish, frogs, and other small aquatic animals with powerful jaws. Bowfin can gulp air using a vascularized swim bladder, allowing them to survive in warm, oxygen-poor water where many fish struggle. Males guard nests and newly hatched young, an unusually attentive behavior among many freshwater fishes.
- Type
- Water
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Bowfin