Locations

Fish species in South Carolina

284 species have two or more US observation records in South Carolina. Explore their habitats, families, and local records.

284 species have two or more US observation records in South Carolina. ITIS calls 184 of them native to the United States, 93 native to part of the country and introduced elsewhere, and 7 introduced.

Species: 284
Freshwater: 186
Saltwater: 141
Survey list: 94

1state

South Carolina in the United States.

Two counts, two questions. 284 is the number of species observed in South Carolina and filed with GBIF, which includes lakes, the coast, and museum records. 94 is the number the USGS stream survey caught, which samples flowing fresh water only. Neither is the other, so the site never adds them.

The statute

The official state fish of South Carolina

Striped bass

Morone saxatilis · named 1972

scstatehouse.net

A state fish is a statute, not a survey. It says which fish the legislature chose, not which fish is most common. The list above links each row to the state's own record.

Most recorded

The fish of South Carolina

The species with the most observation records in the state. It is the closest the open data comes to naming the fish people meet.

Bluegill1,625 records

Lepomis macrochirusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Redbreast Sunfish1,213 records

Lepomis auritusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Largemouth Bass1,125 records

Micropterus salmoidesCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Bluehead Chub969 records

Nocomis leptocephalusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Yellowfin Shiner678 records

Notropis lutipinnisLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Warmouth630 records

Lepomis gulosusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Grass Pickerel542 records

Esox americanusEsocidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Pirate Perch480 records

Aphredoderus sayanusAphredoderidaeNativeFresh

Golden Shiner414 records

Notemigonus crysoleucasLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Dollar Sunfish405 records

Lepomis marginatusCentrarchidaeNativeFresh

Redear Sunfish387 records

Lepomis microlophusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Chain Pickerel375 records

Esox nigerEsocidaeNative and introducedFresh

Groups

Types of fish in South Carolina

Species

All 284 species, A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

Knobbed Porgy Calamus nodosus

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W

Y

One record only

37 more with a single record

One observation can be a stray, an aquarium release, or a mis-keyed locality, so these are kept out of the count above and listed here instead. The first 37 are shown.