Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata

Polyodon spathula (American paddlefish) is currently found in 22 states that are part of the Mississippi River drainage (Mims, 2001). American paddlefish distribution is now restricted to this system of large, slow-moving rivers. In the past, P. spathula was located in 4 more states in this drainage, the Great Lakes, and Canada (Graham, 1997). The many dams that have been added throughout the Mississippi River drainage have limited the ranges of many populations of these fish (Wills, 1993). Due to these unnatural blockages, migratory breeding behavior has been disrupted, and many areas previously sustaining paddlefish must be annually stocked by local conservation agencies (Graham, 1997)