Locations
Fish species in West Virginia
170 species have two or more US observation records in West Virginia. Explore their habitats, families, and local records.
170 species have two or more US observation records in West Virginia. ITIS calls 54 of them native to the United States, 111 native to part of the country and introduced elsewhere, and 5 introduced.
- Species
- 170
- Freshwater
- 167
- Saltwater
- 14
- Survey list
- 124
0
1state
Two counts, two questions. 170 is the number of species observed in West Virginia and filed with GBIF, which includes lakes, the coast, and museum records. 124 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 West Virginia
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 West Virginia
The species with the most observation records in the state. It is the closest the open data comes to naming the fish people meet.
Smallmouth Bass901 records
Micropterus dolomieuCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh
Creek Chub840 records
Semotilus atromaculatusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Bluntnose Minnow806 records
Pimephales notatusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Central Stoneroller795 records
Campostoma anomalumLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Northern Hog Sucker791 records
Hypentelium nigricansCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Fantail Darter761 records
Etheostoma flabellarePercidaeNativeFresh
Bluegill648 records
Lepomis macrochirusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh
Greenside Darter619 records
Etheostoma blennioidesPercidaeNative and introducedFresh
Rock Bass577 records
Ambloplites rupestrisCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh
White Sucker560 records
Catostomus commersoniiCatostomidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish
Rosyface Shiner543 records
Notropis rubellusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Spotfin Shiner521 records
Cyprinella spilopteraLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Groups
Types of fish in West Virginia
Species
All 170 species, A–Z
A
B
- Banded Darter Etheostoma zonale
- Banded Killifish Fundulus diaphanus
- Banded Sculpin Cottus carolinae
- Bigeye Chub Hybopsis amblops
- Bigmouth Chub Nocomis platyrhynchus
- Black Buffalo Ictiobus niger
- Black Bullhead Ameiurus melas
- Black Crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus
- Blackside Darter Percina maculata
- Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus
- Blueback Herring Alosa aestivalis
- Bluebreast Darter Nothonotus camurus
- Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus
- Bluehead Chub Nocomis leptocephalus
- Bluntnose Minnow Pimephales notatus
- Bowfin Amia calva
- Brindled Madtom Noturus miurus
- Brook Silverside Labidesthes sicculus
- Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis
- Brown Bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus
- Brown Trout Salmo trutta
- Bullhead Minnow Pimephales vigilax
C
- Candy Darter Etheostoma osburni
- Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum
- Chain Pickerel Esox niger
- Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus
- Channel Darter Percina copelandi
- Channel Shiner Notropis wickliffi
- Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
- Comely Shiner Notropis amoenus
- Common Carp Cyprinus carpio
- Common Shiner Luxilus cornutus
- Creek Chub Semotilus atromaculatus
- Creek Chubsucker Erimyzon oblongus
- Cutlip Minnow Exoglossum maxillingua
- Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii
D
E
F
G
- Ghost Shiner Notropis buchanani
- Gilt Darter Percina evides
- Golden Redhorse Moxostoma erythrurum
- Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas
- Goldeye Hiodon alosoides
- Goldfish Carassius auratus
- Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella
- Grass Pickerel Esox americanus
- Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus
- Greenside Darter Etheostoma blennioides
- Guppy Poecilia reticulata
H
J
K
L
- Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides
- Least Brook Lamprey Lampetra aepyptera
- Logperch Percina caprodes
- Longear Sunfish Lepomis megalotis
- Longfin Darter Etheostoma longimanum
- Longhead Darter Percina macrocephala
- Longjaw Minnow Ericymba amplamala
- Longnose Dace Rhinichthys cataractae
- Longnose Gar Lepisosteus osseus
M
- Margined Madtom Noturus insignis
- Mimic Shiner Notropis volucellus
- Mississippi Silvery Minnow Hybognathus nuchalis
- Mooneye Hiodon tergisus
- Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis
- Mottled Sculpin Cottus bairdii
- Mountain Brook Lamprey Ichthyomyzon greeleyi
- Mountain Madtom Noturus eleutherus
- Mountain Redbelly Dace Chrosomus oreas
- Muskellunge Esox masquinongy
N
O
P
Q
R
- Rainbow Darter Etheostoma caeruleum
- Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
- Redbreast Sunfish Lepomis auritus
- Redear Sunfish Lepomis microlophus
- Redfin Shiner Lythrurus umbratilis
- Redline Darter Nothonotus rufilineatus
- Redside Dace Clinostomus elongatus
- River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio
- River Chub Nocomis micropogon
- River Darter Percina shumardi
- River Redhorse Moxostoma carinatum
- River Shiner Notropis blennius
- Roanoke Darter Percina roanoka
- Rock Bass Ambloplites rupestris
- Rosefin Shiner Lythrurus ardens
- Rosyface Shiner Notropis rubellus
- Rosyside Dace Clinostomus funduloides
S
- Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus
- Satinfin Shiner Cyprinella analostana
- Sauger Sander canadensis
- Sharpnose Darter Percina oxyrhynchus
- Shorthead Redhorse Moxostoma macrolepidotum
- Silver Chub Macrhybopsis storeriana
- Silver Lamprey Ichthyomyzon unicuspis
- Silver Redhorse Moxostoma anisurum
- Silver Shiner Notropis photogenis
- Silverjaw Minnow Ericymba buccata
- Skipjack Shad Alosa chrysochloris
- Slenderhead Darter Percina phoxocephala
- Slimy Sculpin Cottus cognatus
- Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu
- Smallmouth Buffalo Ictiobus bubalus
- Smallmouth Redhorse Moxostoma breviceps
- Snubnose Darter Etheostoma simoterum
- Southern Redbelly Dace Chrosomus erythrogaster
- Speckled Chub Macrhybopsis aestivalis
- Spotfin Shiner Cyprinella spiloptera
- Spottail Shiner Notropis hudsonius
- Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus
- Spotted Darter Nothonotus maculatus
- Spotted Sucker Minytrema melanops
- Steelcolor Shiner Cyprinella whipplei
- Stonecat Noturus flavus
- Streamline Chub Erimystax dissimilis
- Stripeback Darter Percina notogramma
- Striped Bass Morone saxatilis
- Striped Shiner Luxilus chrysocephalus
- Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis
- Swallowtail Shiner Notropis procne
T
V
W
- Walleye Sander vitreus
- Warmouth Lepomis gulosus
- Weed Shiner Notropis texanus
- Western Blacknose Dace Rhinichthys obtusus
- Western Sand Darter Ammocrypta clara
- White Bass Morone chrysops
- White Bullhead Ameiurus catus
- White Crappie Pomoxis annularis
- White Shiner Luxilus albeolus
- White Sucker Catostomus commersonii
- Whitetail Shiner Cyprinella galactura
Y
One record only
15 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 15 are shown.
American Paddlefish23 states
Polyodon spathulaPolyodontidaeNativeFresh
Bighead Carp20 states
Hypophthalmichthys nobilisCyprinidaeIntroducedFreshBrackish
Blackstripe Topminnow20 states
Fundulus notatusFundulidaeNativeFresh
Blacktip Jumprock7 states
Moxostoma cervinumCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Blue Sucker22 states
Cycleptus elongatusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Coho Salmon22 states
Oncorhynchus kisutchSalmonidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish
Crystal Darter13 states
Crystallaria asprellaPercidaeNativeFresh
Gulf Menhaden8 states
Brevoortia patronusClupeidaeNativeSalt
Largescale Stoneroller22 states
Campostoma oligolepisLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Northern Madtom9 states
Noturus stigmosusIctaluridaeNativeFresh
Shield Darter11 states
Percina peltataPercidaeNativeFresh
Shoal Chub18 states
Macrhybopsis hyostomaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Silverband Shiner15 states
Notropis shumardiLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Tadpole Madtom38 states
Noturus gyrinusIctaluridaeNative and introducedFresh
White Perch33 states
Morone americanaMoronidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish
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