Locations

Fish species in South Dakota

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

93 species have two or more US observation records in South Dakota. ITIS calls 17 of them native to the United States, 71 native to part of the country and introduced elsewhere, and 5 introduced.

Species: 93
Freshwater: 93
Saltwater: 5
Survey list: 81

1state

South Dakota in the United States.

Two counts, two questions. 93 is the number of species observed in South Dakota and filed with GBIF, which includes lakes, the coast, and museum records. 81 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 Dakota

Walleye

Sander vitreus · named 1992

sdsos.gov

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 Dakota

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

Fathead Minnow633 records

Pimephales promelasLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Creek Chub413 records

Semotilus atromaculatusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Green Sunfish404 records

Lepomis cyanellusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

White Sucker298 records

Catostomus commersoniiCatostomidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Black Bullhead246 records

Ameiurus melasIctaluridaeNative and introducedFresh

Common Carp221 records

Cyprinus carpioCyprinidaeIntroducedFreshBrackish

Brook Stickleback203 records

Culaea inconstansGasterosteidaeNative and introducedFresh

Johnny Darter181 records

Etheostoma nigrumPercidaeNative and introducedFresh

Brown Trout170 records

Salmo truttaSalmonidaeIntroducedFreshSaltBrackish

Orangespotted Sunfish167 records

Lepomis humilisCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Sand Shiner138 records

Notropis stramineusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Red Shiner135 records

Cyprinella lutrensisLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Groups

Types of fish in South Dakota

Species

All 93 species, A–Z

A

B

C

E

F

G

L

M

N

O

Orangespotted Sunfish Lepomis humilis

P

Q

Quillback Carpiodes cyprinus

R

S

T

W

Y

One record only

21 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 21 are shown.