The American paddlefish is the freshwater fish known for a distinctive paddle-shaped snout and electroreception.
The American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, is native to the Mississippi River Basin. Its elongated rostrum, or snout, can make up roughly one-third of its total body length. The rostrum contains electroreceptors that detect weak electrical signals from tiny drifting organisms.
Paddlefish are filter feeders. They swim through the water with their mouths open, straining zooplankton from the current with specialised gill rakers. Unlike many predatory fish, they do not use the paddle to spear prey or dig through riverbeds.
The species is North America’s only surviving paddlefish. The Chinese paddlefish, a related species from the Yangtze River, was declared extinct after decades of severe population decline, making the American species especially important for conservation.