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American Paddlefish | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

American Paddlefish

Polyodon spathula

ActinopterygiiLarge, slow, turbid rivers and connected reservoirs and backwatersVulnerable

Field profile

The American paddlefish is a filter-feeding relative of the sturgeons, recognisable by a flattened snout that can be a third of its body length. It swims with its mouth open, straining zooplankton. Adults commonly exceed a metre and a half.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-02-19

American Paddlefish

The paddlefish snout is an electrical antenna

The paddlefish's long rostrum is not a shovel and not a stabiliser. It is covered in tens of thousands of electroreceptive pores that detect the faint electrical signals of individual water fleas, letting the fish feed in water too turbid to see through.

Read with evidence →