Spotted bass

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Spotted bass

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Centrarchidae
Genus: Micropterus
Species:
M. punctulatus
Binomial name
Micropterus punctulatus
(Rafinesque, 1819)
Synonyms[2]

Calliurus punctulatus Rafinesque, 1819

The spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus), also called spotty, or spots in various fishing communities, is a

Mid-Atlantic states and it has been introduced into western North Carolina and Virginia. It has also been introduced to southern Africa, where it has become established in some isolated waters as an invasive species
.

Spotted bass can reach an overall length of almost 64 cm (25 in), and can weigh up to 5.2 kg (11 lb). It can live to an age of at least seven years. Preferring cool and warm mountain streams and reservoirs with rocky bottoms, the spotted bass feeds on insects, crustaceans, frogs, annelid worms and smaller fish. It is often mistaken for the similar and more common largemouth bass. A convenient way to distinguish between a largemouth and a spotted bass is by the size of the mouth. A spotted bass will resemble a largemouth bass in coloration but will have a smaller mouth.

In 2010, the scientific community officially recognized a separate

gamefish and average size is much larger than the more common Kentucky spotted bass. The current record spotted bass, caught in Pine Flat Lake, California, weighed 10.27 lb (4.66 kg).[4]

Etymology

Micropterus means small fin, and punctulatus means dotted.[5]

Description

Typical spotted bass from Tallapoosa River near Tallassee, Alabama (released)

Many

black basses except the largemouth, has scales on the base portion of the second dorsal fin, its first and second dorsal fin are clearly connected, and its upper jaw bone
does not extend back to or beyond the rear edge of the eyes.

The spotted bass is also often confused with a smallmouth bass (or "smally" for short), but it lacks the vertical bars that are present on the sides of a smallmouth's body. The spotted bass also has small black spots below the lateral line unlike either the large or smallmouth bass. Juveniles often resemble the young smallmouth bass in having a broad band of orange at the base of the tail, followed by a broad black band and white edge. The spotted bass is known to hybridize with the smallmouth, which sometimes makes identification difficult. Spotted bass can be found in deeper water than smallmouth bass, at depths up to 100 ft (30 m).[6]

Distribution and habitat

Spotted bass seems to segregated by habitat type from closely related species such as the largemouth and smallmouth basses. They tend to be found in areas with more

aquatic vegetation, submerged logs, and rock or riprap walls in small to large flowing streams, rivers, and reservoirs. Spotted bass are distributed throughout the Ohio River basin as well as the central and lower Mississippi River basin. The species may be found in Gulf Coast states from Texas east to Florida. Spotted bass are native to portions of East Texas, particularly in the Sabine, Neches and Cypress Rivers.[7]

Diet

Spotted bass usually feed on small fishes,

sucks in the prey.[8]

Reproduction and life cycle

The spotted bass can live approximately six years.

Spawning occurs from April to May in habitat similar to that used by smallmouth. The males build their nest in gravel or other substrate, then entices a female to deposit her eggs. The males guard the eggs until they disperse. Several spotted and smallmouth bass hybrids have been collected recently in area reservoirs suggesting there is occasionally competition between the two species for spawning habitat.[10]

Importance to humans

The spotted bass is a popular game fish that is fished regularly. In this context spotted bass is a good food fish for human consumption.

Invasive species

The spotted bass was introduced to the Thee River,

seine nets and backpack electrofishing. The spotted bass was held responsible for a decline in abundance of native fiery redfin (Pseudobarbus phlegethon Barnard, 1938) and Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus Castelnau, 1861). [11]

See also

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202565A18234277.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Micropterus punctulatus" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. ^ "Nomenclature of the Spotted Bass". Archived from the original on 2012-06-14.
  4. ^ "State Records for Spotted Bass". Archived from the original on 2012-06-14.
  5. ^ a b "Spotted Bass". Outdoor Alabama. 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  6. ^ "Bass, spotted". Igfa.org. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
  7. ^ "Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus)". Tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  8. ^ "Spotted (Kentucky) Bass Freshwater Fish Information". Fish-identification.com. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  9. ^ "Spotted Bass | MDC Discover Nature". Nature.mdc.mo.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  10. ^ "TWRA - Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - Spotted Bass". Tnfish.org. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  11. hdl:10019.1/112516
    .

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Micropterus punctulatus.
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