English: Bowfin.
Genera: 1; 1 species, Amia calva; 1 family, Amiidae.
Region: North America, United States, southern Canada.
Habitat: freshwater; streams, rivers, and swamps.
ZoologyFish: maxilla included in gape; prominent ocellus near upper base of caudal fin.
Behavior: ability to go to the surface to breathe air if the water level is too low.
Form: cylindrical body.
Fins: long dorsal fin, single gular plate, heterocercal caudal fin, 10 to 13 flattened branchiostegal rays.
TaxonomyHalecomorphs, and its sister group Ginglymodi, belong to Holostei. Holosteans are the sister group of teleosteans, the group to which nearly all (i.e., 96%) living fishes belong to. Holosteans and Teleosts form a clade called Neopterygii.