bowfin

/boh"fin'/, n.

a carnivorous ganoid fish, Amia calva, found in sluggish fresh waters of eastern North America. Also called grindle.

[1835-45, Amer.; BOW² + FIN]

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Voracious freshwater fish (Amia calva) that is the only living representative of the family Amiidae, which dates back to the Jurassic period (206–144 million years ago).

It is found in sluggish North American waters from the Great Lakes southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Mottled green and brown, it has a long dorsal fin and strong conical teeth. The female, which is larger than the male, reaches a length of 30 in. (75 cm). The bowfin spawns in spring, when the male constructs a crude nest and guards both the fertilized eggs and the newly hatched young. It is sometimes called a dogfish.

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▪ fish

also called  Grindle, Mudfish, or Dogfish 

 (Amia calva), freshwater fish of the order Amiiformes (superorder Holostei); it is the only living representative of its family (Amiidae), which dates back to the Jurassic Period (beginning about 180,000,000 years ago). The bowfin is a voracious fish found in sluggish North American waters from the Great Lakes southward to the Gulf of Mexico.

      The bowfin is mottled green and brown and has a long dorsal fin and strong conical teeth. The female reaches a length of 75 centimetres (30 inches); the smaller male is distinguished by a black tail spot circled with orange. The bowfin spawns in spring. The male constructs a crude nest among vegetation and guards both the fertilized eggs and the newly hatched young.

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