Paddlefish
Polyodon spathula
Not Kosher
No true scales
Scales
No
Description
The American paddlefish, also known as a Mississippi paddlefish, spoon-billed cat, or spoonbill, is a species of ray-finned fish. It is the last living species of paddlefish (Polyodontidae).
Paddlefish roe is processed into a caviar that's close to sevruga sturgeon caviar in taste, color, and texture.
The American paddlefish is native to the Mississippi River basin and now ranges across 22 US states, in the Mississippi and Missouri tributaries and the Mobile Bay drainage. It favors deeper, slow-current water like side channels, oxbows, backwaters, and the tailwaters below dams.
Also known as
- Spoonbill
- Mississippi paddlefish
- Spoon-billed cat
Paddlefish in foreign languages
| Scientific | Polyodon spathula |
| Hebrew | חדקן שיניים אמריקאי |
| Arabic | رماحة أمريكية |
| Spanish | Pez espátula |
| Portuguese | Peixe-espátula-do-mississippi |
| French | Poisson Spatule |
| German | Löffelstör |
| Russian | Веслонос |
| Turkish | Kaşık ağızlı mersin balığı |
| Chinese | 匙吻鱘 |
| Japanese | ヘラチョウザメ |
| Korean | 아메리카주걱철갑상어 |
| Bengali | আমেরিকান প্যাডেলফিশ |
| Vietnamese | Cá tầm thìa Mỹ |
| Thai | ปลาฉลามปากเป็ด |
| Indonesian | Ikan dayung amerika |
Gallery
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- A smooth-skinned fish with a nearly all-cartilage skeleton and no true scales, a close relative of sturgeon, so it is not kosher.
- Paddlefish roe has been sold as Caspian caviar, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service has prosecuted that mislabeling. The roe is not kosher either.