The species lists below include all of the fish in California broken down by protected status. Species with multiple designations are listed more than once, and will appear in each category that is suitable. However, species with multiple designations will have a “-” after the latin name and a series of letters that describes all of the designations. The “key” is as follows:

FE = Federal Endangered          FT = Federal Threatened

SE = State Endangered              ST = State Threatened

FP = Fully Protected                   SSC = California Species of Special Concern

Taxonomic References:

• Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland Fishes of California. University of California Press. Download here
• Nelson, J.S., E.J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, R.N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
• Jelks, H.L., S.J. Walsh, N.M. Burkhead, S. Contreras-Balderas, E. Díaz-Pardo, D.A. Hendrickson, J. Lyons, N.E. Mandrak, F. McCormick, J.S. Nelson, S.P. Platania, B.A. Porter, C.B. Renaud, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, E.B. Taylor, and M.L. Warren, Jr. 2008. Conservation status of imperiled North American freshwater and diadromous fishes. Fisheries 33(8):372-407. Download here

Federal Listed Fishes

There are a total of 24 federal listed fishes in California, and 5 steelhead Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) and 3 Chinook salmon Ecologically Significant Units (ESUs)

• Click here to learn more about the Federal Endandered Species Act

Federal Endangered Fishes (14 species)

• Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis) – FE, SE, FP
• Owens tui chub (Siphateles bicolor snyderi) – FE, SE
• Bonytail (Gila elegans) – FE, SE
• Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) – FE, SE, FP
• Shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris) – FE, SE, FP
• Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus) – FE, SE, FP
• Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) – FE, SE, FP
• Coho salmon – south of Punta Gorda (Oncorhynchus kisutch) – FE, SE
• Steelhead – southern California DPS (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
• Chinook salmon – winter-run (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) – FE, SE
• Desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) – FE, SE
• Owens pupfish (Cyprinodon radiosus) – FE, SE, FP
• Unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) – FE, SE, FP
• Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) – FE, SSC

Federal Threatened Fishes (11 species with 4 DPS and 1 ESU)

• Green sturgeon – southern DPS (Acipenser medirostris) – FT, SSC
• Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae)
• Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) – FT, SE
• Pacific eulachon – southern DPS (Thaleichthys pacificus)
• Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi)
• Paiute cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii seleniris)
• Coho salmon – Punta Gorda to the N. border of California (Oncorhynchus kisutch) – FT, ST
• Steelhead – south central California coast DPS (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
• Steelhead – central California coast DPS (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
• Steelhead – California Central Valley DPS (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
• Steelhead – northern California DPS (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
• Little Kern golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss whitei)
• Chinook salmon – California coastal ESU (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
• Chinook salmon – spring-run (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) – FT, ST
• Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) – FT, SE

State Listed Fishes

There are 19 state listed fishes in California, and 2 Coho salmon and Chinook salmon ESUs. A total of 16 of those are also federal listed species.

• Click here to learn more about the California Endangered Species Act

State Endangered Fishes (15 species)

• Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis) – FE, SE, FP
• Owens tui chub (Siphateles bicolor snyderi) – FE, SE
• Bonytail (Gila elegans) – FE, SE
• Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) – FE, SE, FP
• Modoc sucker (Catostomus microps) – SE, FP
• Shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris) – FE, SE, FP
• Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus) – FE, SE, FP
• Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) – FE, SE, FP
• Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) – FT, SE
• Coho salmon – south of Punta Gorda (Oncorhynchus kisutch) – FE, SE
• Chinook salmon – winter-run (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) – FE, SE
• Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) – FT, SE
• Desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) – FE, SE
• Owens pupfish (Cyprinodon radiosus) – FE, SE, FP
• Unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) – FE, SE, FP

State Threatened Fishes (6 species)

• Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi)
• Longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys)
• Coho salmon – Punta Gorda to the N. border of California (Oncorhynchus kisutch) – FT, ST
• Chinook salmon – spring-run (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) – FT, ST
• Cottonball Marsh pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus milleri)
• Rough sculpin (Cottus asperrimus) – ST, FP

Fully Protected Fishes

There are 10 Fully Protected fishes in California.

• Click here to learn more about Fully Protected Species
• Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) – FE, SE, FP
• Thicktail chub (Gila crassicauda)
• Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis) – FE, SE, FP
• Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus) – FE, SE, FP
• Modoc sucker (Catostomus microps) – SE, FP
• Shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris) – FE, SE, FP
• Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) – FE, SE, FP
• Owens pupfish (Cyprinodon radiosus) – FE, SE, FP
• Unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) – FE, SE, FP
• Rough sculpin (Cottus asperrimus) – ST, FP

Species of Special Concern

A Species of Special Concern (SSC) is a species, subspecies, or distinct population of an animal* native to California that currently satisfies one or more of the following (not necessarily mutually exclusive) criteria**:

1. is extirpated from the State or, in the case of birds, is extirpated in its primary season or breeding role;
2. is listed as Federally-, but not State-, threatened or endangered; meets the State definition of threatened or endangered but has not formally been listed;
3. is experiencing, or formerly experienced, serious (noncyclical) population declines or range retractions (not reversed) that, if continued or resumed, could qualify it for State threatened or endangered status;
4. has naturally small populations exhibiting high susceptibility to risk from any factor(s), that if realized, could lead to declines that would qualify it for State threatened or endangered status.

*for the purposes of this discussion, “animal” means fish, amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal

**criteria for fishes are similar except that Federally listed taxa are not defined as SSCs

There are a total of 58 fishes in California that are Special Status Species.

• Northern California brook lamprey (Entosphenus folletti)
• Kern brook lamprey (Entosphenus hubbsi)
• Pit-Klamath brook lamprey (Entosphenus lethophagus)
• Klamath River lamprey (Entosphenus similis)
• Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus)
• Goose Lake lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus ssp. 1 )
• River lamprey (Lampetra ayresii)
• Green sturgeon – southern DPS (Acipenser medirostris) – FT, SSC
• White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)
• Coast cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii)
• California golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita)
• Eagle Lake rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aquilarum)
• Kern River rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gilberti)
• Steelhead – Klamath Mountains Province DPS (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus)
• Summer-run steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus)
• Goose Lake redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp. 1)
• McCloud River redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp. 2)
• Chinook salmon – upper Klamath and Trinity Rivers ESU (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
• Chinook salmon – Central Valley fall / late fall-run ESU (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
• Mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni)
• Blue chub (Gila coerulea)
• Arroyo chub (Gila orcuttii)
• Sacramento hitch (Lavinia exilicauda exilicauda)
• Pajaro/Salinas hitch (Lavinia exilicauda harengus)
• Pit roach (Lavinia symmetricus mitrulus)
• Navarro roach (Lavinia symmetricus navarroensis)
• Gualala roach (Lavinia symmetricus parvipinnis)
• San Joaquin roach (Lavinia symmetricus ssp. 1)
• Tomales roach (Lavinia symmetricus ssp. 2)
• Red Hills roach (Lavinia symmetricus ssp. 3)
• Clear Lake – Russian River roach (Lavinia symmetricus ssp. 4)
• Monterey roach (Lavinia symmetricus subditus)
• Hardhead (Mylopharodon conocephalus)
• Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus)
• Amargosa Canyon speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus ssp. 1)
• Owens speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus ssp. 2)
• Santa Ana speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus ssp. 3)
• Long Valley speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus ssp. 5)
• Lahontan Lake tui chub (Siphateles bicolor pectinifer)
• Eagle Lake tui chub (Siphateles bicolor ssp. 1)
• Goose Lake tui chub (Siphateles bicolor thalassina)
• Cow Head tui chub (Siphateles bicolor vaccaceps)
• Owens sucker (Catostomus fumeiventris)
• Goose Lake sucker (Catostomus occidentalis lacusanserinus)
• Mountain sucker (Catostomus platyrhynchus)
• Klamath largescale sucker (Catostomus snyderi)
• Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae)
• Saratoga Springs pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis nevadensis)
• Shoshone pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis shoshone)
• Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus salinus)
• Sacramento perch – within native range only (Archoplites interruptus)
• Clear Lake tule perch (Hysterocarpus traski lagunae)
• Russian River tule perch (Hysterocarpus traski pomo)
• Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) – FE, SSC
• Riffle sculpin (Cottus gulosus)
• Upper Klamath marbled sculpin (Cottus klamathensis klamathensis)
• Bigeye marbled sculpin (Cottus klamathensis macrops)
• Lower Klamath marbled sculpin (Cottus klamathensis polyporus)

All Fishes of California (Inland)

(Source: CDFW here)

I – species Introduced to California, non-native

* – extremely limited distribution in California

Lampreys (Petromyzontidae)

• river lamprey (Lampetra ayersii)
• Kern brook lamprey (Lumpetra hubbsi)
• western brook lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni)
• Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)
  • coastal Pacific lamprey (L. t. tridentata)
  • Goose Lake lamprey (L. t. ssp.)
• Pit-Klamath brook lamprey (Lampetra lethophaga)
• Klamath River lamprey (Lampetra similis)

Sturgeons (Acipenseridae)

• green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris)
• white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

Tenpounders (Elopidae)

• machete (Elops afinis)

Herrings (Clupeidae)

• Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi)
• threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense)
• American shad (Alosa sapidissima)

Minnows (Cyprinidae)

• tui chub (Gila bicolor)
  • Mohave tui chub (G. b. mohavensis)
  • Lahontan creek tui chub (G. b. obesa)
  • Lahontan lake tui chub (G. b. pectinifer)
  • Owens tui chub (G. b. snyderi)
  • Goose Lake tui chub (G. b. thalassina)
  • Cowhead Lake tui chub (G. b. vaccaceps)
  • Eagle Lake tui chub (G, b. ssp.)
  • High Rock Spring tui chub (G. b. ssp.)
  • Pit tui chub (G. b. ssp.)
  • Klamath tui chub (G. b. bicolor)
• blue chub (Gila coerulea)
• Thicktail chub (Gila crassicauda)
• bonytail chub (Gila elegans)
• arroyo chub (Gila orcutti)
• hitch (Lavinia exilicauda)
  • Clear Lake hitch (L. e. chi)
  • Sacramento hitch (L. e. exilicauda)
  • Monterey hitch (L. e. harengus)
• California roach (Lavinia symmetricus)
  • Sacramento roach (L. s. symmetricus)
  • San Joaquin roach (L. s. ssp.)
  • Red Hills roach (L. s. ssp.)
  • Tomales roach (L. s. ssp.)
  • Pit roach (L. s. mitrulus)
  • Navarro roach (L. s. navarroensis)
  • Gualala roach (L. s. pawipinnis)
  • Monterey roach (L. s. subditus)
• Sacramento blackfish (Orthodon microlepidotus)
• Clear Lake splittail (Pogonichthys ciscoides)
• Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus)
• hardhead (Mylopharodon conocephalus)
• Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis)
• Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius)
• speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus)
  • Klamath speckled dace (R. o. klamathensis)
  • Sacramento speckled dace (R. o. ssp.)
  • Lahontan speckled dace (R. o. robustus)
  • Santa Ana speckled dace (R. o. ssp.)
  • Amargosa speckled dace (R. o. nevadensis)
  • Owens speckled dace (R. o. ssp.)
  • Long Valley speckled dace (R. o. ssp.)
• Lahontan redside (Richardsonius egregius)
• golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas)
• red shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis)
• fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
• tench (Tinca tinca)
• goldfish (Carassius auratus)
• common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
• grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

Suckers (Catostomidae)

• mountain sucker (Catostomus platyrhynchus)
• Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae)
• Sacramento sucker (Catostomus occidentalis)
  • Humboldt sucker (C. o. humboldtianus)
  • Goose Lake sucker (C. o. Zacusanserinus)
  • Monterey sucker (C. o. mniotiltus)
  • Sacramento sucker (C. o. occidentalis)
• Klamath largescale sucker (Catostomus snyderi)
• Tahoe sucker (Catostomus tahoensis)
• Owens sucker (Catostomus fimeiventris)
• flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus zatipinnis)
• Modoc sucker (Catostomus microps)
• Klamath smallscale sucker (Catostomus rimiculus)
• shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris)
• Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus)
• razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus)

Loaches (Cobitidae)

• oriental weatherfish (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)

Bullhead Catfishes (Ictaluridae)

• white catfish (Ameiurus catus)
• black bullhead (Ameiurus melas)
• yellow bullhead (Ameiurus natalis)
• brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus)
• blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)
• channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)
• flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris)

Pikes (Esocidae)

• northern pike (Esox lucius)

Smelts (Osmeridae)

• wakasagi (Hypomesus nipponensis)
• delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus)
• longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys)
• eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus)

Salmon and Trout (Salmonidae)

• mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni)
• coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)
  • northern California/southern Oregon ESU
  • central California ESU
• chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
  • California coastal ESU
    • Smith River fall run
    • lower Klamath fall run
    • Redwood Creek fall run
    • Little River fall run
    • Mad River fall run
    • Bear River fall run
    • Mattole River fall run
    • Humboldt Bay tributaries fall run
    • Eel River fall run
    • Russian River fall run
  • upper Klamath and Trinity rivers ESU
    • upper Klamath-Trinity fall run
    • Klamath-Trinity spring run
    • Klamath late fall run
  • Central Valley fall run ESU
  • Sacramento late fall run ESU
  • Sacramento spring run ESU
  • Sacramento winter run ESU
• pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)
• chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)
• sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)
  • anadromous form
  • kokanee
• rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
  • coastal rainbow trout, (O. m. irideus)
    • Klamath Mountains Province steelhead ESU
    • Klamath winter-run steelhead ESU
    • Klamath summer steelhead
  • northern California steelhead ESU
    • north coast winter-run steelhead
    • north coast summer steelhead
  • Central Valley steelhead ESU
  • central coast steelhead ESU
  • south/central coast steelhead ESU
  • southern steelhead ESU
  • upper Kern rainbow trout
    • California golden trout (O. m. aguabonita)
    • Little Kern golden trout (O. m. whitei)
    • Kern River rainbow trout (O. m. gilberti)
  • upper Sacramento redband trout
    • McCloud River redband trout (O. m. stonei)
    • Goose Lake redband trout (O. m. ssp.)
    • Eagle Lake rainbow trout (O. m. aquilarum)
  • Kamloops rainbow trout (O. m. “gairdneri”)
• cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii)
  • coast cutthroat trout (O. c. clarkii)
  • Lahontan cutthroat trout (O. c. henshawi)
  • Paiute cutthroat trout (O. c. seleniris)
  • Colorado River cutthroat trout (O. c. pleuriticus)
• brown trout (Salmo trutta)
• bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
• brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
• lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

Pupfishes (Cyprinodontidae)

• desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius)
• Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis)
  • Amargosa pupfish (C. n. amargosae)
  • Tecopa pupfish (C. n. calidae)
  • Saratoga Springs pupfish (C. n. nevadensis)
  • Shoshone pupfish (C. n. shoshone)
• Owens pupfish (Cyprinodon radiosus)
• Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus)
  • Cottonball Marsh pupfish (C. s. milleri)
  • Salt Creek pupfish (C. s. salinus)

Killifishes (Fundulidae)

• California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis)
• rainwater killifish (Lucania parvu)

Livebearers (Poeciliidae)

• western mosquitofish (Gambusia afinis)
• sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna)
• shortfin molly (Poecilia mexicana)
• porthole livebearer (Poeciliopsis gracilis)

Silversides (Atherinopsidae)

• topsmelt (Atherinops afinis)
• inland silverside (Menidia beryllina)

Sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae)

• brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) I3
• threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
  • anadromous threespine stickleback (G. a. aculeatus) N5
  • resident threespine stickleback (G. a. microcephalus) N5
  • unarmored threespine stickleback (G. a. williamsoni) N2, CE, FE
  • Shay Creek threespine stickleback (G. a. ssp.) N2, CSC

Sculpins (Cottidae)

• Coast Range sculpin (Cottus aleuticus) N5
• prickly sculpin (Cottus asper)
  • Central Valley prickly sculpin (C. a. ssp.) N5
  • Clear Lake prickly sculpin (C. a. ssp.) N4
  • coastal prickly sculpin (C. a. ssp.) N5
• Paiute sculpin (Cottus beldingi) N5
• riffle sculpin (Cottus gulosus) N5
• Pit sculpin (Cottus pitensis) N5
• marbled sculpin (Cottus klamathensis)
  • upper Klamath marbled sculpin (C. k. klamathensis) N5
  • lower Klamath marbled sculpin (C. k. polyporus) N5
  • bigeye marbled sculpin (C. k. macrops) N4, CSC
• reticulate sculpin (Cottus perplexus) N4, CSC
• rough sculpin (Cottus asperrimus) N4, CT
• Pacific staghom sculpin (Leptocottus armatus)
  • northern Pacific staghom sculpin (L. a. armatus) N5
  • southern Pacific staghom sculpin (L. a. australis) N5

Moronidae

• white bass (Morone chrysops) I4
• striped bass (Morone saxatilis) I5

Sunfish, Bass, Crappies, and Relatives (Centrarchidae)

• Sacramento perch (Archoplites interruptus) N2, CSC
• green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) I5
• pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) I5
• w&mouth (Lepomis gulosus) I3
• bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) I4
• redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) I4
• redeye bass (Micropterus coosae) I3
• smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) I4
• spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) I5
• largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) I5
• white crappie (Pomoxis annularis) I4
• ck crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) I4

Perches (Percidae)

• yellow perch (Perca flavescens) I3
• bigscale logperch (Percina macrolepida) I5

Surfperch (Embiotocidae)

• shiner perch (Cymatogaster aggregata)
• tule perch (Hysterocarpus traski)
  • Clear Lake tule perch (H. t. zagunae)
  • Sacramento tule perch (H. t. traski)

Cichlids (Cechlidae)

• Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus)
• blue tilapia (Oreochromis aurea)
• Nile tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica)
• redbelly tilapia (Tilapia zilli)

Gray Mullets (Mugilidae)

• striped mullet (Mugil cephalus)

Gobies (Gobiidae)

• yellowfin goby (Acanthogobiusflavimanus)
• arrow goby (Clevelandia ios)
• tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi)
• longjaw mudsucker (Gillichthys mirabilis)
• shimofuri goby (Tridentiger bifasciatus)
• shokihazi goby (Tridentiger barbatus)

Righteye Flounders (Pleuronectidae)

• starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus)