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State Fish

Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, and Ohio. Iowa has an un-official state fish. Other states have designated two Official State Fish, distinguishing them with labels such as Warm water, Coldwater, Saltwater or Marine, Sport, and Commercial.

Massachusetts Symbols

Massachusetts Symbols

Beans, Berry, Beverage, Bird, Building & Monument Stone, Cat, Ceremonial March, Children's Author and Illustrator, Children's Book, Citizenry, Cookie, Dessert, Dog, Donut, Explorer Rock, Fish, Flag, Flower or Floral Emblem, Folk Dance, Folk Hero, Folk Song, Fossil, Fruit, Game Bird, Gem, Glee Club Song, Heroine, Historical Rock, Horse, Insect, Marine Mammal, Mineral, Motto, Muffin, Nicknames, Ode of the Commonwealth, Patriotic Song, Poem, Polka, Rock, Seal, Shell, Soil, Song, Tree, Veterans of Southwest, Asia War Monument, Vietnam War Memorial

Massachusetts State Fish

Cod

(Gadus morhua)

Adopted in 1974.

The Cod, Gadus morrhua, a soft-finned fish, was designated the official state fish of Massachusetts in 1974. A soft-finned fish, usually 10-20 lbs. General coloring is olive grey with lateral lines paler than rest of body tint. Indians and Pilgrims used them as common food and fertilizer. A sculpture of a cod hangs in the House of Representatives as a tribute to this useful aquatic creature. For over 200 years, the emblem of the cod has remained a symbol of the Commonwealth's economic beginnings, as the fishing industry provided the Puritans with food, fertilizer, and revenue for trade.

Description of the Massachusetts State Fish

In appearance, the head is rather disproportionately large for the body, with the upper jaw protruding over the lower. The color of the body can vary depending on the habitat in which the fish is found, but ranges from reddish or greenish where the water is populated by algae, and pale grey where the fish is found in deep water or near a sandy bottom. The cod has a barbel on the end of its chin and, in common with several other members of the family, three dorsal and two anal fins. The tail fluke is square-ended, and the lateral line is noticeable and extends from the point of the gill covers to the centre of the tail root.

Range

Atlantic cod range from the north and eastern coast of North America, around the southern tip of Greenland across the north Atlantic to the waters around Iceland, the Faroes, the North Sea and the Barents Sea. It is found all around the British coast, reaching south to the Bay of Biscay.

History

Indians and Pilgrims used them as common food and fertilizer. A sculpture of a cod hangs in the House of Representatives as a tribute to this useful aquatic creature. For over 200 years, the emblem of the cod has remained a symbol of the Commonwealth's economic beginnings, as the fishing industry provided the Puritans with food, fertilizer, and revenue for trade.

Taxonomic Hierarchy of the Cod

Kingdom	Animalia -- animals
Phylum	Chordata -- chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata -- vertebrates
Class	Osteichthyes
Order	Gadiformes
Family	Gadidae
Genus	Gadus
Species	Gadus morhua

State Fishes

This is a list of official and *unofficial U.S. state fish: The only states lacking a state fish as of 2008 are Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, and Ohio.

fish ('fish)
n. pl. fish or fish·es

1. Any of numerous cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates of the superclass Pisces, characteristically having fins, gills, and a streamlined body and including specifically:: a. Any of the class Osteichthyes, having a bony skeleton.
b. Any of the class Chondrichthyes, having a cartilaginous skeleton and including the sharks, rays, and skates.
2. The flesh of such animals used as food. 3. Any of various primitive aquatic vertebrates of the class Cyclostomata, lacking jaws and including the lampreys and hagfishes. 4. Any of various unrelated aquatic animals, such as a jellyfish, cuttlefish, or crayfish.