Micropterus dolomieu, Smallmouth bass : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

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Micropterus dolomieu Lacepède, 1802

Smallmouth bass
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Centrarchiformes (Basses) > Centrarchidae (Sunfishes)
Etymology: Micropterus: Greek, mikros = small + Greek,pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335);  dolomieu: Named after M. Dolomieu, French minerologist and friend of Lacepède (Ref. 1998).
More on author: Lacepède.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic; depth range 1 - 7 m (Ref. 120820). Subtropical; 9°C - 30°C (Ref. 1998); 50°N - 33°N, 95°W - 63°W (Ref. 86798)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North America: St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system, Hudson Bay (Red River) and Mississippi River basins from southern Quebec in Canada to North Dakota and south to northern Alabama and eastern Oklahoma in the USA. Introduced into many countries for sport fishing. Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 27.0, range 22 - ? cm
Max length : 69.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86798); common length : 8.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3549); max. published weight: 5.4 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 26 years (Ref. 46974)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9 - 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-15; Anal spines: 10-11; Vertebrae: 31 - 32

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits shallow rocky areas of lakes and clear and gravel-bottom runs and flowing pools of rivers (Ref. 86798). Young feed on plankton and immature aquatic insects while adults take in crayfish, fishes, and aquatic and terrestrial insects (Refs. 1998, 10294, 44091). Is sometimes cannibalistic (Ref. 30578). Preyed upon by fishes and turtles (Ref. 1998). Builds nest, usually at three or four feet deep (Ref. 120821). Excellent food fish (Ref. 1998).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

The male builds the nest in shallow waters of lakes and rivers, on sand, gravel, or rocky bottoms. Nest building usually occurs within 150 yards of where his nest was built in previous years. The pair swims about the nest, rubbing and nipping each other and eventually come to rest on the bottom. Actual spawning occurs and lasts for 5 seconds. The pair then encircles the nest for about 25-45 seconds, before settling to spawn again. This goes on for 2 hours. After spawning, the female leaves the nest and may spawn with another male in another nest. Males guard the eggs and young. (Ref. 1998).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p. (Ref. 86798)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 01 March 2012

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Potential pest





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5001   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01096 (0.00897 - 0.01340), b=3.05 (2.99 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 6.8 (5.2 - 7.3) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 26 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.10-0.28; tm=3-6; tmax=14; Fec=5,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (49 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.