| Spotted bass | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Centrarchiformes |
| Family: | Centrarchidae |
| Genus: | Micropterus |
| Species: | M. punctulatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Micropterus punctulatus (Rafinesque, 1819) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Calliurus punctulatusRafinesque, 1819 | |
Thespotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus), also calledspotty, orspots in various fishing communities, is aspecies ofNorth Americanfreshwater fish belonging to the sunfishfamily (Centrarchidae) of theorderCentrarchiformes. It is noted for the rows of dark spots below the lateral line, which give it its common name. One of theblack basses, it is native to theMississippi Riverbasin and across theGulf states, from centralTexas through theFlorida panhandle. Its native range extends into the westernMid-Atlantic states and it has been introduced into westernNorth Carolina andVirginia. It has also beenintroduced tosouthern Africa, where it has become established in some isolated waters as aninvasive 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 mountainstreams andreservoirs with rocky bottoms, the spotted bass feeds oninsects,crustaceans,frogs,annelid worms and smaller fish. It is often mistaken for the similar and more commonlargemouth 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 separatesubspecies of spotted bass, native to theTallapoosa andCoosa Rivers and theirlakes. This species is commonly known as theAlabama spotted bass (M. henshalli) and known locally as the "Coosa spotted bass", not to be confused with theredeye Coosa bass found innorth Georgia.[3] The Alabama spotted bass is highly prized as agamefish and average size is much larger than the more common Kentucky spotted bass. The current record spotted bass, caught inPine Flat Lake inCalifornia, weighed 10.27 lb (4.66 kg).[4]
Micropterus means small fin, andpunctulatus means dotted.[5]
Manyanglers who catch a spotted bass mistake it for alargemouth bass due to the coloration, although there are subtle differences. The spotted bass, like allblack basses except the largemouth, hasscales on the base portion of the seconddorsal fin, its first and second dorsal fin are clearly connected, and itsupper jaw bone does not extend back to or beyond the rear edge of the eyes.
The spotted bass is also often confused with asmallmouth 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 thelateral 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 tohybridize 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]
Spotted bass seem to be segregated by habitat type from closely related species such as the largemouth and smallmouth bass. They tend to be found in areas with morewater current than the largemouth, and usually inhabit areas that are too warm, turbid and sluggish for smallmouth bass. They usually occur aroundaquatic vegetation, submerged logs, and rock orriprap walls in small to large flowing streams, rivers, and reservoirs. Spotted bass are distributed throughout theOhio River basin as well as the central and lowerMississippi River basin. The species may be found inGulf Coast states fromTexas east toFlorida. Spotted bass are native to portions ofEast Texas, particularly in theSabine,Neches andCypress Rivers.[7]
Spotted bass usually feed on small fishes,crayfish andaquatic insects.[5] The young begin withcopepods and other smallcrustaceans and soon begin to eat insects. The spotted bass' diet falls in between the largemouth and smallmouth bass. It isn't nearly aspredatory as the largemouth and only consumes about half the amount of the fish. Like all bass the spotted bass feeds by opening its mouth and creating a negative pressure thatsucks in the prey.[8]
The spotted bass can live approximately six years.[9]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 hereggs. 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]
The spotted bass is a populargame fish that is fished regularly. In this context spotted bass is a goodfood fish for human consumption.
The spotted bass was introduced to the Thee River,Olifants‐Doring River system,Western Cape Province, South Africa, as game fish before 2007, and is nowrated as an invasive species. The population was successfully eradicated in 2014, wheregillnets andhand nets were used to remove the majority of the stock, while individuals were also caught byspearguns,seine nets and backpackelectrofishing. The spotted bass was held responsible for a decline in abundance of nativefiery redfin (Pseudobarbus phlegethon Barnard, 1938) andCape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus Castelnau, 1861).[11]
