All fish
184 fish so far, best known first. 1,007 more are on the list to be written.
GroupSharkRayCarpCatfishSalmonidHerringCodTunaPerch-likeCichlidReef fishEelFlatfishLivebearerAncientOther
WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreSea lamprey
A jawless, parasitic fish native to the Northern Hemisphere that attacks other fish.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758
WorldCommon fangtooth
A small, black deep-sea fish with large fangs found worldwide.Other · Open ocean · 1833
WorldStoplight loosejaw
Deep-sea dragonfish that hunts with invisible red light.Shark · Deep sea · 1848
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreAtlantic sturgeon
A large anadromous fish native to the western Atlantic Ocean and its river systems.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreShortnose sturgeon
A small, endangered North American sturgeon with a short snout.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1818
🇺🇸 United StatesPallid sturgeon
An endangered North American sturgeon species native to the Missouri and Mississippi river basins.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1905
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreTropical gar
A small freshwater predator from Central America known for its armored scales and air-breathing ability.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
WorldLamprey
Jawless fish with a sucking mouth found in temperate waters worldwide.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
WorldMegalodon
Extinct giant mackerel shark from the Miocene to Pliocene epochs.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1843
🇺🇸 United StatesCladoselache
Extinct Late Devonian shark-like fish known for well-preserved fossils and streamlined body.Shark · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreStethacanthus
Extinct Devonian-Carboniferous shark with a distinctive anvil-shaped dorsal fin.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1874
🇳🇬 NigeriaGymnarchus
African electric fish with a long dorsal fin used for swimming and sensing prey.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1829
WorldHaplochromis
A large ray-finned fish genus from East Africa known for rapid evolution and aquarium popularity.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1888
🇸🇷 Suriname and 2 moreRedeye piranha
A large freshwater fish from South America with a rhombus-shaped body and red eyes.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMexican tetra
A freshwater characin with surface and blind cave forms, studied for evolutionary biology.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United StatesDelta smelt
A tiny, endangered fish native to California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1963
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreCoelacanth
Ancient lobe-finned fish thought extinct until rediscovered in the twentieth century.Ancient · Coasts and shelves · 1839
🇺🇸 United StatesAmerican paddlefish
Ancient freshwater fish with a sensory snout and filter-feeding habits.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1792
🇺🇸 United StatesNorthern cavefish
A blind fish living in caves of Kentucky and IndianaOther · Rivers and lakes
🇨🇺 CubaCuban gar
Large tropical freshwater predator native to western Cuba.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePupfish
Small killifish known for surviving in extreme isolated waters.Livebearer · Rivers and lakes
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreZebrafish
Small striped fish from South Asia kept in aquariums and labsCarp · Rivers and lakes
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWest Indian Ocean coelacanth
Rare deep-sea fish with blue scales and limb-like fins.Ancient · Deep sea · 1938
🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian coelacanth
A rare brown deep-sea fish found in Indonesian waters.Ancient · Open ocean · 1999
WorldThree-spined stickleback
Small northern fish known for rapid evolution and complex breeding.Other · Rivers and lakes
WorldNinespine stickleback
Small freshwater fish with variable spines found across the Northern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreTiticaca orestias
Largest killifish of Lake Titicaca, likely extinct.Livebearer · Rivers and lakes
🇸🇳 Senegal and 3 moreSenegal bichir
Ancient African fish that breathes air and walks on landAncient · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreHoplias aimara
A large freshwater predator from South America known for its size and mercury accumulation.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1846
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreElectric eel
Neotropical freshwater fish capable of generating powerful electric shocks for hunting and defence.Eel · Rivers and lakes · 1766
🇦🇺 AustraliaAustralian lungfish
Ancient air-breathing fish endemic to Queensland rivers, known for its longevity and living fossil status.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1871
WorldBasking shark
The second-largest living fish, a slow-moving filter feeder found in temperate oceans worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1765
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreRuffe
A small, aggressive freshwater fish native to Eurasia that has become a major invasive pest in North America.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePacific lamprey
An anadromous parasitic jawless fish found along the Pacific Rim.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1872
WorldDeepsea lizardfish
A deep-ocean predator with a flattened head and large eyes found in tropical seas worldwide.Other · Deep sea · 1878
WorldGlasshead barreleye
Deep-sea fish with mirror-based eyesOther · Open ocean
WorldBarreleye
Deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and a light-producing anusOther · Open ocean
WorldHagfish
Eel-shaped jawless marine animals known for producing vast amounts of slime.Eel · Open ocean
🇲🇽 Mexico and 3 moreXiphophorus
A genus of small livebearing fish native to Mexico and Central America, known for aquarium use and genetic research.Livebearer · Rivers and lakes
WorldKillifish
Small egg-laying fish known for hardiness and short lifespansLivebearer · Rivers and lakes
WorldHumpback anglerfish
Deep-sea black seadevil with a glowing lureOther · Open ocean · 1863
WorldPelican eel
A deep-sea eel with a massive hinged jaw and ultra-black skin found in all oceans.Eel · Deep sea
WorldSloane's viperfish
Deep-sea dragonfish with huge teeth and light organsOther · Open ocean · 1801
WorldSlender snipe eel
A deep-sea eel with a bird-like beak and extreme length.Eel · Open ocean
WorldBlack swallower
Deep-sea fish that eats prey larger than itselfOther · Open ocean
WorldPacific blackdragon
Deep-sea fish with light-absorbing skin and a glowing chin lure.Other · Open ocean
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreAtlantic hagfish
A jawless marine scavenger known for its slime and lack of true eyes.Ancient · Deep sea · 1758
WorldTripod fish
Deep-sea fish that stands on elongated finsOther · Open ocean
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sea lamprey: Fernando Losada Rodríguez, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Common fangtooth: Brian Suda, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Stoplight loosejaw: Rafael Bañón, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lungfish: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Atlantic sturgeon: Jiaqian AirplaneFan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shortnose sturgeon: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Pallid sturgeon: USFWS Fish and Aquatic Conservation, Public domain, source
- Tropical gar: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bichir: 5snake5, CC0, source
- Lamprey: Tiit Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Megalodon: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cladoselache: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Stethacanthus: Dmitry Bogdanov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gymnarchus: Wiki-Harfus ; modified by Wildfeuer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Haplochromis: User:Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Redeye piranha: Torox, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mexican tetra: User:Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Delta smelt: Peterson, B. Moose / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
- Coelacanth: Alberto Fernandez Fernandez, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- American paddlefish: Timothy Knepp, Public domain, source
- Cuban gar: Poleta33, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pupfish: P.V. Loiselle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zebrafish: Roundish, CC0, source
- Indonesian coelacanth: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- West Indian Ocean coelacanth: sybarite48, CC BY 2.0, source
- Three-spined stickleback: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ninespine stickleback: Piet Spaans, Public domain, source
- Hoplias aimara: Lars Simonsen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Electric eel: Steven G. Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Basking shark: Greg Skomal / NOAA Fisheries Service, Public domain, source
- Ruffe: Tiit Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pacific lamprey: Dave Herasimtschuk, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
- Deepsea lizardfish: Bideault, Public domain, source
- Glasshead barreleye: Adrian Flynn, CC BY 1.0, source
- Barreleye: S. Johnsen (Duke Uni.) for courtesy of photos, J. Hlidberg for courtes, CC BY 4.0, source
- Hagfish: Ocean Observatories Initiative, Public domain, source
- Xiphophorus: Marrabbio2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Killifish: TinoStrauss, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Humpback anglerfish: Emőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pelican eel: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sloane's viperfish: Gervais et Boulart, Public domain, source
- Slender snipe eel: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Black swallower: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Pacific blackdragon: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tripod fish: null, CC BY 4.0, source