American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)
American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) is the only living member of family Polyodontidae.
paddlefish
fish species
Also known as: American paddlefish, Mississippi paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, spoonbill(Show More)
paddlefish, (Polyodon spathula), archaic freshwater fish with a paddlelike snout, a wide mouth, smooth skin, and a cartilaginous skeleton. A relative of the sturgeon, the paddlefish makes up the family Polyodontidae in the order Acipenseriformes. A paddlefish feeds with its mouth gaping open and its gill rakers straining plankton from the water through its gills. The American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), also called the Mississippi paddlefish or spoonbill, is greenish or gray and averages about 18...