Physical Description: 
Elongate, stout-bodied, cylindrical fish 
Long dorsal fin and bony plate on the underside of the lower jaw  
Mouth subterminal with jaws bearing peg-like teeth 
 
Cycloid scales 
Body fully scaled  
Dark spots on the caudal fin of males  

Similar species: 
None

Mean body size:
Adults are 400-600 mm standard length.

Habitat:
Dark swamps, sluggish rivers, streams, ditches, ponds, lakes, and estuaries  
Usually found in shallow, weedy areas, near cut banks or stumps  
During times of drought, bowfin can aestivate (burrow in the mud) and breathe air  
 
 
Distribution in VA:
Native to Atlantic slope drainages  
Introduced to New and upper Roanoke drainages 

Food Habits:  
Young feed on microcrustaceans and insects 
Adults feed on fish, worms, crayfishes, insects, mollusks, and frogs 

Reproductive Habits: 
Most spawn at age 4 or 5 
Spawn in the spring in water about 16-19°C
Males construct bowl-shaped nests on bottom in shallows 
Spawning occurs at night and involves the pair nudging each other and circling the nest  
Males defend nest  
Nests contain 2,000-5,000 eggs covered with gelatinous filaments  
Fecundity is 2,765-64,000 eggs per female

Population Status, Economic, or Ecological Importance: 
One of two living fossils (primitive fish) that live in Virginia
A gamefish, but not very edible

References:       

Jenkins, R.E and N.M. Burkhead. 1993. Freshwater Fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.