Do you think the Mississippi River is just another stream of water flowing south? No! It’s a whole secret world down there, packed with creatures having some wild survival skills. Let’s take a look at 12 of the creatures that call the riverbed home.
1. Bowfins Have Special Bladders
Bowfin can survive in water with hardly any oxygen. How? Using their bladder! Bowfins have a special lung-like air bladder that lets them breathe air directly under the water. Even in the stickiest, muddiest situations, bowfin keeps cruising along, unfazed.
2. Hellbenders Bend the Breathing Rules
Meet the hellbender, a giant salamander that breathes through its skin. These slippery creatures spend most of their time tucked under rocks, quietly filtering oxygen from the cool river water. It’s a quirky trait that makes them one of the river’s most unique dwellers.
3. American Eels Cover Miles
Born in the salty Sargasso Sea, American eels travel thousands of miles to freshwater rivers across North America to mature. After living there for many years, they make the long trek back to their birthplace to breed and complete their life cycle.
4. Redhorse Suckers Spawn in Swift Currents
The redhorse sucker is a contender in the strong-current survival stakes. It uses its uniquely adapted sucker mouths to anchor itself against the river’s powerful flow, particularly during spawning. This way, they withstand the river’s might and keep their eggs safe.
5. Snapping Turtles Snap Faster Underwater
Don’t let their slow land moves fool you—snapping turtles are lightning-fast in the water. Known for their powerful jaws, snapping turtles can snap up a meal in a blink. The turtles wait patiently to clamp down on unsuspecting prey by lurking at the river’s bottom.
6. Freshwater Drums Don’t Have Ears
Who needs ears when you have a bladder that can hear? Freshwater drums use their air-filled swim bladders to detect sounds in the water. Such unique hearing ability helps them stay one step ahead of predators and zero in on dinner in Mississippi’s murky depths.
7. Silver Carp, The Jumping Invaders
Silver carp are invasive in the Mississippi River but are famous for giving a dramatic response to boats by leaping high out of the water when startled by engines. Originally, silver carp were brought here to control algae in aquaculture and wastewater treatment facilities.
8. Longnose Gar Have Needlelike Snouts
With a snout that could double as a sewing needle, the longnose gar is a striking figure in the Mississippi. This ancient fish slices through the water with ease by using its razor-sharp beak to snatch up prey. You can call them living fossils since they look the same for millions of years.
9. Shovelnose Sturgeon Dig for Their Dinner
The shovelnose sturgeon is an expert digger. It uses its flattened, shovel-shaped snout to scour the riverbed for meals. As the shovelnose sturgeon plows through the silt, it unearths hidden morsels like insects and worms—an important part of the river’s ecosystem.
10. Muskellunge Strike with Lightning Speed
A lightning-fast and razor-sharp animal? That’s the muskellunge for you, but the locals call them ‘muskie.’ A muskellunge ambushes its prey in such a quick, powerful, and precise way that it makes them one of the river’s top aquatic hunters.
11. Mooneye, The Silver Swimmer
Small, silvery fish, Mooneye has large, bright eyes, which are well-adapted to their habitat in the murky waters of the Mississippi. Mooneyes are schooling fish, which you can see swimming in large groups and feeding on small insects and plankton.
12. Channel Catfish Detect Minimal Scents
Who is Mississippi’s scent detective? It’s the channel catfish with an uncanny ability to detect incredibly faint odors in turbid waters. Their sensory prowess makes them one of the river’s most adept creatures. The whiskered fish can find food and mates and avoid predators easily.
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