Micropterus

Micropterus is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. The species of this genus are known as the black bass.

"Black bass" redirects here. For other uses, see The Black Bass (disambiguation).

Micropterus
Micropterus dolomieu
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Centrarchidae
Subfamily: Lepominae
Genus: Micropterus
Lacepede, 1802[1]
Type species
Micropterus dolomieu
Lacepède, 1802[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Aplesion Rafinesque, 1820
  • Aplites Rafinesque, 1820
  • Calliurus Rafinesque, 1819
  • Dioplites Rafinesque, 1820
  • Gristes Cuvier, 1829
  • Huro Cuvier, 1828
  • Nemocampsis Rafinesque,.] 1820

The black bass are sometimes erroneously called black trout, but the name trout more correctly refers to certain members of the salmon family.

The black bass are distributed throughout a large area east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, from the Hudson Bay basin in Canada to northeastern Mexico. Several species, notably the largemouth and smallmouth basses, have been very widely introduced throughout the world, and are now considered cosmopolitan. Black bass of all species are highly sought-after game fish, and bass fishing is an extremely popular sport throughout the bass's native range. These fish are well known as strong fighters, and their meat is eaten, being quite edible and firm.

All Micropterus species have a dull-green base coloring with dark patterns on the sides. Most reach a maximum overall length of 40–60 cm (16–24 in), but some strains of the largemouth bass have been reported to grow to almost a full meter (just over three feet) in length.[4]

The male builds a "bed" (nest) in which a female is induced to deposit her eggs, then he fertilizes them. The male continues to guard the eggs and fry until they disperse from the nest.

Various species have been introduced into freshwater bodies in Japan, where they have been declared nuisance fish, and subjected to numerous attempts at eradicating them from local ecosystems.[5]

Species

Currently, 13 recognized species are placed in this genus:[6]

A 14th species, the Choctaw bass Micropterus haiaka, has been proposed,[8] but this does not yet appear to have been widely accepted.[6]

See also

References
  1. Citizen La Cepède (1802). Histoire naturelle des poissons, tome IV (in French). Paris: Chez Saugrain. p. 324.
  2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Micropterus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Centrarchidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. Rohde, F.C., Arndt, R.G., Lindquist, D.G. & Parnell, J.F. (1996): Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
  5. "Locals in for long haul in battle against non-native fish". Asahi Shimbun. 6 July 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  6. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). Micropterus Species of 'Micropterus' in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  7. Baker, W.H., Blanton, R.E. & Johnston, C.E. (2013): Diversity within the Redeye Bass, Micropterus coosae (Perciformes: Centrarchidae) species group, with descriptions of four new species. Zootaxa, 3635 (4): 379–401.
  8. Tringali, M.D.; Barthel, B.; Seyoum, S. & Knight, J. (2013). "Molecular and Morphological Evidence for a Novel Black bass Species Native to Rivers of the East Gulf Coastal Plain]". Proceedings of the Symposium Black Bass Diversity: Multidisciplinary Science for Conservation, Nashville, American Fisheries Society 143rd Annual Meeting. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
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