Micropterus salmoides  (Lacepède, 1802)

Largemouth black bass
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Micropterus salmoides
Picture by Scarola, J.F.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Centrarchidae (Sunfishes)
Etymology: Micropterus: Greek, mikros = small + Greek,pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335);  salmoides: salmoides meaning trout-like (Ref. 1998).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 7.0 - 7.5; dH range: 10 - ?; depth range ? - 7 m (Ref. 1998).   Subtropical; 10°C - 32°C (Ref. 12741); 47°N - 26°N

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 97.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5723); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 556); max. published weight: 10.1 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 23 years (Ref. 46974)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12; Vertebrae: 30 - 32. Mouth large; maxillary extending beyond the eye. Pelvic fins not joined by a membrane. Green to olive dorsally, milk-white to yellow ventrally, with a black band running from the operculum to the base of the caudal fin. Caudal fin rounded. Caudal fin with 17 rays (Ref. 2196).

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

North America: St. Lawrence - Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins; Atlantic drainages from North Carolina to Florida and to northern Mexico. The species has been introduced widely as a game fish and is now cosmopolitan. Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits clear, vegetated lakes, ponds, swamps, and backwaters and pools of creeks and rivers (Ref. 5723). Usually found over mud or sand and common in impoundments (Ref. 5723). An introduced species in Europe reported to avoid fast-flowing waters and to occur in estuaries with a salinity up to 13 ppt (Ref. 59043). Prefers quiet, clear water and over-grown banks. Adults feed on fishes, crayfish and frogs; young feed on crustaceans, insects and small fishes. Sometimes cannibalistic. Does not feed during spawning; as well as when the water temperature is below 5°C and above 37°C (Ref. 30578). Popular game fish in North America. Preyed upon by herons, bitterns, and kingfishers (Ref. 1998). Excellent food fish (Ref. 1998).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Potential pest




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO(Aquaculture: production; fisheries: production; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5020   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01031 (-0.02442 - 0.04504), b=3.08 (3.06 - 3.10), based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.6 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06-0.14; tm=3-5; tmax=11; Fec=2,000).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (45 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.