Field Guide

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Species TypeNativeNonnativeInvasive

Conservation StatusEndangeredThreatenedStable

American Brook Lamprey

Lampetra appendix

The American brook lamprey is a jawless filter feeder than can be found in freshwater streams and rivers.

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American Eel

Anguilla rostrata

The American eel is a smooth, snake-like fish that lives in rivers, streams and other freshwater areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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The blue catfish is a large, smooth-skinned fish with a slate blue body and whisker-like barbels around its mouth. It was introduced to the region in the 1970s, and is now considered an invasive species.

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Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus

The bluegill is a colorful sunfish with an olive green, saucer-shaped body. It lives in lakes, ponds, streams and other freshwater bodies throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Brook Trout

Salvelinus fontinalis

The brook trout is a brilliantly colored fish that lives in clear, cold freshwater streams and rivers in undeveloped areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Brown Bullhead

Ameiurus nebulosus

The brown bullhead is a smooth-skinned catfish with a mottled, brownish body and whisker-like barbels around the mouth. It lives in slow-moving ponds, streams and rivers throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Chain Pickerel

Esox niger

The chain pickerel is a torpedo-shaped fish named for its distinctive chain-link looking coloration and an aggressive predation.

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Channel Catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

The channel catfish is a large, smooth-skinned fish with a bluish or greenish-gray body and whisker-like barbels around the mouth. It lives in fresh and brackish rivers throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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