The smallmouth buffalo has a small sub-terminal (ending below tip of snout) mouth which helps separate them from the bigmouth buffalo which has a large terminal (ending at tip of snout) mouth. They have a larger eye than the black buffalo and are deeper bodied. They are typically a dark gray or bronze-gray, sometimes with a slight bluish overcast, and are usually the lightest colored. All species of buffalo have a long continuous dorsal fin and no spines in any of their fins. Buffalo look similar to common carp but are not closely related.