The Digital Fish Library

Distribution:
China and United States (GBIF Distribution Map)

Habitat:
Freshwater

Morphology:
Paddlefish possess numerous long gill rakers and a paddle-like snout with minute barbels. Teeth are minute and numerous. The mouth is either pertrusible or nonprotrusible. They have smooth, scaleless bodies with the exception of small scales on the caudal peduncle and their heterocercal caudal fin. Spiracles are present. Paddlefishes can reach to 3 m in maximum length. (Fishbase ID Key).

Remarks:
The Polyodontidae family live primarily in freshwater and are distributed only in China and the United States. In Greek, the word “poly” means “a lot of” and “odous” means “tooth;” these planktivorous fish possess numerous (in the hundreds) of long gill rakers and a paddle-like snout. The body is smooth, scaleless except for small scales on the caudal peduncle and caudal fin.

Paddlefishes can reach to 3 m in maximum length.

Species:
The family consist of two genera (Polyodon and Psephurus) each containing a single species (Fishbase Species List).
SIO Marine Vertebrate Collection Holdings Search

Additional Links:
ADW
EOL
Fishbase
Wikipedia


References:
Nelson 2006