William Mcdonnell wrote in to ask if we could identify this species of fish from the skeleton.
We found this skeleton, on the bank of Lake of the Ozarks, Springfield, mo. USA.
I was just wondering if you could figure out what kind of fish it is.
I’m thinking that based on the shape of the head, the closeness of the eye to the mouth, and the shape of the mouth (the overbite), that this probably a freshwater drum. There are however plenty of people out there that know more about species identification than I do, I can think of at least one epic species hunter on our forums that might have a pretty good idea if I’m even close.
If you think you can identify this species please leave a comment! Also check out this previous mailbag species identification request.
I’m thinking bass, but its hard to say! I believe the drum has a different tooth structure!
Species from Lake of the Ozarks include, but are not limited to: largemouth bass, spotted bass, black and white crappie, blue catfish, channel catfish, flathead catfish, white bass, hybrid stripers, paddlefish, walleye and bluegill.
We can cross off walleye, catfish, paddlefish and bluegill right away.
There are drum in Lake of the Ozarks, and bass have an under bite as well as much longer mouths.
Forehead looks too steep to be a bass. I’d say it’s a sheepshead as well.
Other fish with steep foreheads are carp and buffalo, but the jaw and gill plate structure in this skull is not consistent with either one of them.
There are buffalo in that lake AFAIK, but yea the mouth and gill plate didn’t match in my mind either.
Nice find.
Its a tough call though.
The upper axial spinal insertion makes it tough
I’d have to make a call in the lepomis family.
This species was found on the bank by Samantha ( Sammy ) Zelle,
she is 10 yrs. old, and I believe she took it to school with her. I just took the pictures for her.
It is about 16-17 inches long. We were told it was a Northern Pike, which I do not believe that.
From Williston, Andrew, awilliston@oeb.harvard.edu
Hi Bill,
I’m always a little reserved in identifying fish from photos, but I think I can say with pretty good certainty that this is a Freshwater Drum: http://eol.org/pages/993240/overview.
Those large divots on the top of the skull are pretty typical for the drum family of fishes, and the freshwater drum should be the only one in Missouri. I compared the photo against a couple skeletons in our collections and it seems to match up pretty closely.
Best,
Andy
It’s definitely not a pike, I know that much for sure.
Not sure if you are still looking for opinions on this, but since I’m looking at fish skeletal bones right now…
The teeth look wrong to me from the picture as well, but the preoperculum clearly visible in the picture is definitely freshwater drum – theirs is very unique within the perciform family.