Āholehole
Hawaiian flagtails often use coastal and brackish waters. Several closely related species share the name āholehole.
Fish starting with A
Browse all 73 fish starting with A. Select a name to explore its species profile.
Browse fish A–Z
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Fish starting with A
73 fish 
Alabama Bass
Native to rivers flowing into Mobile Bay. Lives in flowing river pools and reservoirs across parts of the Southeast.
Alabama Cavefish
Lives in underground pools at Key Cave in northwestern Alabama. Its cave food web depends heavily on nutrients from bats.
Alabama Darter
Found in the Alabama River system, including headwater streams of the Cahaba River. Most populations occur below the fall line.
Alabama Hog Sucker
A southeastern river fish native to Alabama and neighboring parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia.
Alabama Shad
Spawns in flowing Gulf Coast rivers, from the Mississippi River system east to Florida’s Suwannee River.
Alabama Shiner
Native to the Alabama and Tombigbee river systems, with populations across Alabama and nearby Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Alabama Sturgeon
A small sturgeon with yellow-orange coloring, historically found throughout Alabama’s Mobile River system.
Alaska Blackfish
Lives in Alaska’s ponds, lakes and slow water. Eats insect larvae and small crustaceans, and can breathe air.
Alaska Whitefish
A northwestern North American whitefish that mainly inhabits rivers. Unlike many whitefish, it is seldom found in lakes.
Alaskan Brook Lamprey
A nonparasitic northern lamprey associated with Alaska’s freshwater streams. Unlike parasitic lampreys, adults do not feed from other fish.
Alewife
An Atlantic herring that enters rivers to spawn. Landlocked populations also live in the Great Lakes and other freshwater systems.
Allegheny Pearl Dace
Feeds on algae and small arthropods. Found across southern Canada and the northern United States, with a greenish back and silvery sides.
Alligator Gar
North America’s largest gar has a broad, alligator-like snout and heavy protective scales. It can breathe air as well as water.
Altamaha Shiner
Found in the upper Altamaha River system of north-central Georgia, mainly in streams above the coastal plain.
Alvord Chub
Lives in isolated Oregon and Nevada springs, streams and marshes. Aquatic insects, especially midge larvae, form part of its diet.
Amargosa Pupfish
A tiny desert fish from California and Nevada. Eats algae and small invertebrates in springs, streams and spring-fed pools.
Amazon Molly
Native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. This unusual livebearing fish has almost entirely female populations.
Amazon Sailfin Catfish
A tropical armored catfish native to the Amazon River system. Usually stays near the bottom and can gulp air when oxygen drops.
Amber Darter
Found in Georgia’s and Tennessee’s Conasauga and Etowah rivers. Eats small invertebrates among gravel and sand in shallow riffles.
Ambon Gudgeon
An Indo-West Pacific gudgeon found around island coasts. Uses freshwater, brackish and marine habitats across much of its range.
American Brook Lamprey
A nonparasitic North American lamprey. Adults have weak teeth and do not attach to other fish to feed.
American Eel
Lives in freshwater and estuaries along eastern North America, then migrates into the Atlantic to spawn in the Sargasso Sea.
American Flagfish
A small Florida fish whose breeding males have a colorful, flag-like pattern. Also commonly kept in freshwater aquariums.
American Pickerel
A small predator of weedy lakes, pools and wetlands. Eats smaller fish in slow-moving water.
American Plaice
A North Atlantic flatfish that rests on soft seafloors. Found on both sides of the ocean, including waters off northeastern North America.
American Sackfish
A western Atlantic fish recorded from Bermuda south to Brazil, including offshore waters around the Caribbean.
American Sand Lance
Schools near the surface of the western North Atlantic and mainly eats plankton. Buries itself in sand toward evening.
American Shad
Native to the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Florida. Adults commonly weigh a few pounds and migrate into rivers to spawn.
Amistad Gambusia
An extinct Texas fish once found only in Goodenough Spring. Its natural habitat disappeared beneath Amistad Reservoir.
Amphilophus Cichlid
A cichlid with its exact species unconfirmed. Related species differ in adult size, habitat and feeding habits.
Anchoveta
An eastern Pacific anchovy ranging from southern California to Peru, including the Gulf of California and Galapagos Islands.
Antillian Rockclimbing Goby
A Caribbean river goby that grazes on microscopic algae. Its young spend part of their early life at sea.
Apache Trout
A trout native to Arizona’s mountain waters, with a much smaller natural range than rainbow trout.
Apalachee Shiner
A small fish of the Apalachicola River system, with native populations in Georgia, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Apogon brevispinis
A deep-water cardinalfish recorded around the Austral Islands and Rangiroa in the southern-central Pacific.
Appalachia Darter
Lives in the New River system upstream of Kanawha Falls. This small freshwater fish has a naturally limited Appalachian range.
Archerfish
Shoots insects from overhanging vegetation with jets of water. Found around Indo-Pacific river mouths and mangrove estuaries.
Arctic Char
A cold-water fish of Arctic coastal waters and northern or alpine lakes. Some populations migrate between freshwater and the sea.
Arctic Cisco
A northern whitefish found in Arctic Siberia, Alaska and Canada. Often moves between freshwater and coastal waters.
Arctic Cod
A cold-water fish of Arctic seas and nearby northern waters, including the Bering Sea and waters off Labrador.
Arctic Flounder
Rests on muddy coastal bottoms in Arctic waters. Can live in saltwater, brackish estuaries and freshwater.
Arctic Grayling
A northern freshwater fish found across Alaska, Canada and Siberia, with native populations also in Montana’s upper Missouri system.
Arctic Lamprey
Lives in Arctic coastal freshwater habitats. Its range extends around northern parts of the Pacific and Arctic regions.
Arkansas Darter
A small freshwater darter found in Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma. Its native range lies in the central United States.
Arkansas River Shiner
Historically widespread in the Arkansas River system. Remaining populations are especially associated with the Canadian River in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.
Arkansas Saddled Darter
Lives in fast, rocky riffles of the White River system in Arkansas and Missouri, often over gravel and rubble.
Arrow Darter
Lives in Kentucky and Tennessee streams within the Cumberland and Kentucky river systems. A small fish with a restricted regional range.
Arrow Goby
A small goby of Pacific coastal saltwater and brackish habitats, ranging from British Columbia south to Baja California.
Arroyo Chub
Native to coastal streams in southern California. This freshwater chub has a much smaller natural range than many western minnows.
Ashy Darter
Native to the Elk and upper Tennessee river basins in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia.
Asian Sand Goby
A coastal goby native from northern Vietnam and southern China north to Korea and Japan.
Asian Sleeper
An Indo-Pacific sleeper using fresh, brackish and marine water, with records from Indonesia toward Japan and New Caledonia.
Asian Swamp Eel
Lives in freshwater and brackish rivers and swamps across South Asia and parts of Oceania.
Atlantic Blackwing Flyingfish
A subtropical Atlantic flyingfish ranging from Massachusetts through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean toward Trinidad and Tobago.
Atlantic Croaker
A coastal fish frequently found in sounds and estuaries from Massachusetts south through the Gulf of Mexico.
Atlantic Flyingfish
An Atlantic flyingfish ranging from eastern Canada to southern Brazil, with additional populations off western Africa.
Atlantic Gauvina
Uses fresh and brackish coastal habitats from Florida and Cuba south through the Caribbean toward Brazil.
Atlantic Herring
Forms huge schools in the North Atlantic. Eats tiny crustaceans such as copepods and krill, along with some small fish.
Atlantic Menhaden
A schooling fish of Atlantic coastal waters and estuaries from Nova Scotia to northern Florida. Young fish commonly use sheltered bays.
Atlantic Needlefish
A slender, long-beaked predator found from Maine to Brazil. Uses quiet coastal waters and sometimes ventures into freshwater.
Atlantic Sailfin Flyingfish
Lives in warm Atlantic surface waters, including the Gulf Stream, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, with a separate eastern Atlantic population.
Atlantic Salmon
Usually grows at sea before returning to rivers to spawn. Some populations spend their entire lives in freshwater lakes.
Atlantic Saury
A slender Atlantic fish found off eastern North America and Europe. Also occurs in the Mediterranean and nearby seas.
Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
A small shark of warm northwestern Atlantic waters. Its range includes subtropical coastal areas of North America.
Atlantic Silverside
A small, silvery fish common in Atlantic coast estuaries. A bright silver stripe runs along its mostly translucent body.
Atlantic Spadefish
Eats small bottom-dwelling animals, including crustaceans, mollusks, worms and jellyfish relatives.
Atlantic Stingray
A long-snouted stingray found from Chesapeake Bay to Mexico. Uses coastal saltwater, brackish estuaries and some freshwater habitats.
Atlantic Thread Herring
Feeds mainly on plankton, with small fish and crustaceans also eaten. Found in shallow western Atlantic waters and harbors.
Atlantic Tomcod
A small coastal cod found from Newfoundland and the St. Lawrence region south to Virginia. Also known as frostfish.
Atlantic Twospine Goosefish
A western Atlantic anglerfish with an unusual body shape. Belongs to the same broader group as goosefishes and monkfishes.
Aulotrachichthys heptalepis
A tiny Hawaiian roughy recorded south of Niihau. Lives roughly 160–330 feet deep and reaches only a few inches long.
Australian Mullet
A small Indo-West Pacific mullet with a silvery body, horizontal stripes and two distinctly separated dorsal fins.