Animal Crossing: New Horizons new fish, bugs, and sea creatures to catch in December
With December starting, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players are bound to find a different batch of fish, bugs, and sea creatures around their islands.
There’s no rush to catch any of them, as most of them will stick around for much longer than a month, but make sure you donate any new finds to Blathers to complete your Museum. You can tell when you’ve caught a new creature because your character will exclaim “Yes!” before they say the bug or fish’s name.
You can also check in your Critterpedia to see if you’ve donated the bug fish or not. If you have, there will be a little owl icon next to the critter name. (Note that these emblems won’t show up if you’re on somebody else’s island.)
We’ve broken up the list of new bugs and fish to catch in December by hemisphere below, so you can check which ones are new in your area. Keep in mind that some of these are returning to your island after being previously available, so if they seem familiar, you likely caught them during an earlier availability.
New critters to find in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for December (Northern Hemisphere)
| Critter Type | Name | Location | Shadow Size | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critter Type | Name | Location | Shadow Size | Time |
| Bug | Emperor Butterfly | Flying | N/A | 5 p.m. - 8 a.m. |
| Bug | Raja Brooke's Birdwing | Flying by purple flowers | N/A | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. |
| Fish | Pond Smelt | River | Small | All day |
| Fish | Stringfish | River (Clifftop) | X Large | All day |
| Fish | Sea Butterfly | Sea | Smallest | All day |
| Fish | Squid | Sea | Medium | All day |
| Fish | Oarfish | Sea | Largest | All day |
New critters to find in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for December (Southern Hemisphere)
| Critter Type | Name | Location | Shadow Size | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critter Type | Name | Location | Shadow Size | Time |
| Bug | Emperor Butterfly | Flying | N/A | 5 p.m. - 8 a.m. |
| Bug | Firefly | Flying | N/A | 7 p.m. - 4 a.m. |
| Bug | Drone Beetle | On trees | N/A | All day |
| Bug | Goliath Beetle | On coconut trees | N/A | 5 p.m. - 8 a.m. |
| Bug | Rainbow Stag | On trees | N/A | 7 p.m. - 8 a.m. |
| Bug | Mosquito | Flying | N/A | 5 p.m. - 4 a.m. |
| Fish | Tilapia | River | Medium | All day |
| Fish | Piranha | River | Small | 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., 9 p.m. - 4 a.m. |
| Fish | Arowana | River | Large | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Fish | Dorado | River | X Large | 4 a.m. - 9 p.m. |
| Fish | Gar | Pond | Largest | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Fish | Arapaima | River | Largest | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Fish | Saddled Bichir | River | Large | 9 p.m. - 4 a.m. |
| Fish | Ribbon Eel | Sea | Narrow | All day |
| Fish | Saw Shark | Sea | Largest (Fin) | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Fish | Hammerhead Shark | Sea | Largest (Fin) | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Fish | Great White Shark | Sea | Largest (Fin) | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Fish | Whale Shark | Sea | Largest (Fin) | All day |
| Fish | Suckerfish | Sea | Large (Fin) | All day |
| Sea Creature | Sea grapes | Ocean (diving) | N/A | All day |
| Sea Creature | Mussel | Ocean (diving) | N/A | All day |
| Sea Creature | Abalone | Ocean (diving) | N/A | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Sea Creature | Gazami crab | Ocean (diving) | N/A | All day |
| Sea Creature | Tiger prawn | Ocean (diving) | N/A | 4 p.m. - 9 a.m. |
| Sea Creature | Sea pineapple | Ocean (diving) | N/A | All day |
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