Chris Rego
Abstract- The Bowfin, Amia calva , is a primitive fish native to North America capable of breathing air. The Bowfin is a predacious fish, often caught by anglers fishing for something else. Bowfin are found in slow moving, vegetated areas where they build nests. Bowfin populations are stable.
Bowfin Amia calva (Linnaeus, 1766)
Context and Content- Order Amiiformes, A.calva Family Amiidae, Genus Amia. is the www.indiana.edu only extant species in the order Amiiformes, Distribution- Bowfin are widespread and which flourished in the mid-Mesozoic found in most water systems and drainages period (Wilson 1982). in Mississippi, including, but not limited to, the Mississippi, Pascagoula, Pearl, and General Characteristics- The Bowfin is a Tombigbee drainages. In the North long, heavy bodied fish with a rounded, America, Bowfin are found throughout the heterocercal caudal fin. They can easily be eastern portion of the United Sates and distinguished from all other North American parts of Southern Canada. They can be native fish by the presence of a long dorsal found in the Mississippi, St. Lawrence-Lake fin separated from the caudle fin, a short Champlain, and Great Lakes basins (except anal fin, and a single gular plate. The bowfin Lake Superior). The Bowfin is also found in has a large mouth with many sharp teeth. many Atlantic drainages from the Hudson, Bowfin are generally olive in color with south into Florida and can be found some dark mottling in some individuals. The throughout the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain undersides are whitish or light in color. from Florida west into Texas (Ross 2001). Males and juveniles have an ocellus (dark spot) on the caudal fin. This spot loses Form and Function- The Bowfin’s distinction in adult females. Bowfin have distinguishing dorsal fin allows for slow 10-13 brachiostegal rays and two barbels on moving both forward and backward by the the snout, as well as 65-70 lateral line use of wave-like undulations generated by scales, 45-48 dorsal rays, 9-10 anal rays, and the muscles attached to the dorsal rays. 16-18 pectoral rays (Ross 2001). This is called ribbon-fin locomotion (Jagnandan 2012). Bowfin have been recorded at lengths of 1090 mm, but are more commonly found Bowfin posses the ability to breath air, that from 381-685 mm. The U.S. Angling record is, to acquire needed oxygen from the air. is 9.76 kg caught in South Carolina in 1980. This is accomplished by the use of a highly Male bowfin are typically smaller than vascularized swim bladder as a “lung” for females (Ross 2001). gas exchange. Bowfin have a physostomous swim bladder, meaning there is a female sheds the eggs and they are connection from the swim bladder to the fertilized. The courtship ritual may take gut via the pneumatic duct. It is because of over an hour and the pair may repeat it up this connection that Bowfin can breathe air. to five times. Bowfin spawn both day and Bowfin breathe by exhaling the old air in night, but show preference to the night the swim bladder and quickly inhaling new (Reighard 1903). After spawning, the female air (Horn and Riggs 1973). An increase in air leaves the nest but the male stays to breathing occurs as water temperatures vigorously guard the eggs (Kelly 1924). rise. At 10°C, Bowfin rely almost solely on their gills for respiration but at 30°C, Bowfin Females may contain as many as 64,000 get most of their oxygen from the air. eggs. Mature eggs have a yellowish Interestingly though, even at high appearance and they are slightly elliptical temperatures, the Bowfin uses its gills for (2.2 x 2.8 mm). The eggs are adhesive and around 60% of CO 2 elimination. (Johansen stick to objects such as roots or vegetation. et al. 1970) After fertilization, the eggs hatch in 180 hours (Ross 2001; Breder and Rosen 1966). The gills of Bowfin are also unique among At hatch, the fry measure 3-7 mm and are most fish. The gill lamellae are fused so that tadpole in shape. Each individual has a yolk the tips are held apart from each other. This sac until the fry reach 10-13 mm. The newly adaptation allows for gas exchange in air, hatched fish have an adhesive organ which while water is not holding the tips apart they use to attach to vegetation in the nest (Bevelander 1934). (Reighard 1934). The male guards the fry in the nest for about nine days. Then the fry Bowfin can survive out of water for hours, leave the nest in a compact school, still and even days at a time. Green (1966) vigorously guarded by the male. The fry stay reports of a Bowfin surviving 21 days buried in the school until about 102 mm, and then in the mud of a dried up pond. the solitary life of adults begins (Ross 2001).
Ontogeny and Reproduction- Bowfin breed Bowfin become sexually mature in two to in the spring in Mississippi. Spawning three years and generally do not live more activity begins as water temperatures reach than ten years in the wild (Pflieger 1975). 12°C and continues through 26°C, with peak Growth can be rapid, with fish reaching 203 spawning occuring at 18°C. Males construct mm in the first year and 378-397 mm by a bowl shaped nest in shallow weedy areas their second (Becker 1983; Scott and of depths between 61-92 cm (Hildebrand Crossman 1973). and Towers 1928; Reighard 1903).
Courtship begins when a male approaches a female and holds her by the snout with his jaws. He then begins to swim circles around the nest. Next, the male moves to lie parallel to the female, with his snout just behind her pectoral fin. Spawning begins as the male starts vibrating his fins and the Ecology- Bowfin prefer habitats that include pick), grinnel, grinner, dogfish, mudfish, sluggish waters, vegetation, and annual spottail, and cypress trout. (Ross 2001) flooding. Bowfin can commonly be found in oxbow lakes, slow rivers, and swamps. Bowfin are known among fishermen for During high water stages, Bowfin move out their fight on the line. Bowfin can be caught into the flood plain. Because of this on most types of lures and baits from Texas migration into the floodplain, Bowfin have Rigged soft lures to all styles of cut baits developed a response to lowering water used to catch catfish and everything in levels. As flood waters recede, Bowfin will between. actively swim with the currents back to the main river channel to avoid being trapped in drying pools (Greenbank 1956). Bowfin do have commercial value, not necessarily for their meat, but for their Bowfin are predators. Berry (1955) showed eggs. Louisiana began marketing Bowfin roe that, 97% of the stomach contents of adult as a less expensive caviar called Bowfin consisted of various fish species “Choupiquet Royal” (Arceneaux 1992) such as: Black Crappie, White Catfish, and Brown Bullheads. Other prey items include large crustaceans such as crayfish and grass shrimp (Stacy et al. 1970; Pflieger 1975). Juvenile Bowfin feed mainly on small crustaceans such as copepods and on insects such as dragon fly larvae. Fish smaller than 39 mm tend to feed more on small crustaceans and fish between 39-59 mm begin to feed more on aquatic insects and other appropriate sized foods. At around 102 mm, Bowfin begin to predate on small fish in addition to insects and crustaceans (Stacy et al. 1970; Pflieger Literature Cited- 1975; Frazer et al. 1989). Arceneaux, H. 1992. Mining golden eggs from choupique. La. Conserv. (March/April): Conservation- Bowfin populations are 8-10. secure throughout their range. However, Bowfin are susceptible to habitat changes Becker, G. C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. from slow, sluggish systems with lots of Univ. Wisconsin Press, Madison. vegetation to systems with faster waters and little vegetation. In Mississippi, the Berry, F. H. 1955. Food of the mudfish Bowfin is regarded as a non-game fish and (Amia calva ) in lake Newnan, Florida, in as such, has no regulation on harvest relation to its management. Quart. J. Fla. (MDWFP 2013). Acad. Sci. 18(1): 69-75.
Remarks- The Bowfin has many local names such as: Choupique (pronounced Shoe- Bevelander, G. 1934. The gills of Amia calva Pfliger, W. L. 1975. The fishes of Missouri. specialized for respiration in oxygen Missouri Department of Conservation, deficient habitat. Copeia 1934(3): 123-127. Jefferson City.
Breder, C. M., and D. E. Rosen. 1966. Modes Reighard, J. E. 1903. The natural history of of reproduction in fishes. American Amia , pp.57-109. In: Mark anniversary Museum of Natural History, The Natural volume. G. H. Parker, ed. Henry Holt & Co., History Press, Garden City, NY. New York, N.Y.
Frazer, K. S., H. T. Boschung, R. L. Mayden. Ross, S. T. et al. 2001. Amia calva Linnaeus, 1989. Diet of juvenile bowfin, Amia calva Bowfin. Inland fishes of Mississippi:92-95. Linnaeus, in the Sipsey River, Alabama. Proc. S.E. Fishes Council 20:13-15. Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fish. Res. Bd. Green, O. L. 1966. Observations on the Can., Bull. 185:1-966. culture of bowfin. Prog. Fish-Cult. 28:179. Stacy, G., III., R. O. Smitherman, and J. W. Avault Jr. 1970. Food habits of the bowfin in Greenbank, J. 1956. Movement of fish Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge and under ice. Copeia 1956(3): 158-162. other location in Southern Louisiana. Prog. Fish-Cult. 32(3):153-157. Hildebrand, S. F., and I. L. Towers. 1928. Annotated list of fishes collected in the Wilson, M. V. H. 1982. A new species of vicinity of Greenwood, Mississippi, with Amia from the middle Eocene of British descriptions of three new species. Bull. U.S. Columbia. Paleontology 25(2):413-424. Bur. Fish. 43(2):105-136.
Horn, M. H., and C. D. Riggs. 1973. Effects of temperature and light on the rate of air breathing of the bowfin, Amia calva . Copeia 1973(4):653-657.
Jagnandan, K. 2012. Ribbon-fin locomotion in the bowfin, Amia calva : morphological design and kinematics. UMI Dissertation Publishing 2012.
Kelly, H. A. 1924. Amia calva guarding its young. Copeia 1924(133):73-74.
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. 2013.