''Amia ocellicauda'', the eyespot bowfin, is a species of

bowfin The bowfin (''Amia calva'') is a bony fish, native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique. It is regarded as a relict, being the sole surviving species of the Halecomorphi ...

native to North America. Originally described by John Richardson from

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

in 1836, it was synonymized with '' Amia calva'' until genetic work in 2022 revealed them to be separate species. This species ranges from around the Great Lakes south to the Gulf Coast wetlands of Louisiana and Texas. It is absent from the southeast, where its sister species '' Amia calva'' is found instead. It differs from '' Amia calva'' by having fewer dentary teeth (only 15 compared to 16 or 17 of ''A. calva'') and its interopercle

membrane bone A dermal bone or investing bone or membrane bone is a bony structure derived from intramembranous ossification forming components of the vertebrate skeleton including much of the skull, jaws, gill covers, shoulder girdle and fin spines rays (lepid ...

being smaller. It also has a more pronounced eyespot, has a longer body, and males have green coloration during the breeding season. The two species split approximately 1 to 2.5 million years ago during the mid- Pliocene. It is hypothesized that there are still several more undescribed species of ''Amia'' to be described. The vernacular name eyetail bowfin, was proposed by Brownstein ''et al''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q116692970 Amiiformes Fish of North America Freshwater fish of North America Fish of the Great Lakes Fish described in 1836