Bass () is a name shared by many species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

. The term encompasses both

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

and

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

species, all belonging to the large order

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

, or

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

-like fishes. The word ''bass'' comes from Middle English , meaning 'perch'.

Types

* The black basses, such as the Choctaw bass (''Micropterus haiaka''),

Guadalupe bass The Guadalupe bass (''Micropterus treculii'') is a rare species of fish endemic to the U.S. state of Texas, where it also is the official state fish. It is restricted to creeks and rivers (including the Guadalupe River, hence the name Guadalupe ...

(''M. treculii''),

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

(''M. salmoides''), smallmouth bass (''M. dolomieu''), and

spotted bass The spotted bass (''Micropterus punctulatus''), also called spotty, or spots in various fishing communities, is a species of North American freshwater fish belonging to the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Perciformes. It is noted f ...

(''M. punctulatus''), belong to the sunfish family

Centrarchidae Centrarchidae, better known as sunfishes, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes (formerly belonging to the deprecated order Centrarchiformes), native only to North America. There are eight universally inc ...

. * The temperate basses, such as the

European seabass The European bass (''Dicentrarchus labrax'') is a primarily ocean-going fish native to the waters off Europe's western and southern and Africa's northern coasts, though it can also be found in shallow coastal waters and river mouths during the su ...

(''Dicentrarchus labrax''),

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

(''Morone saxatilis'') and

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

(''M. chrysops''), belong to the family

Moronidae The Moronidae are a family of perciform fishes, commonly called the temperate basses, consisting of at least six freshwater, brackish water, and marine species. Many members of this family are anadromous. Description These fishes reach 45 cm to o ...

. * The Asian seabasses, such as the

Japanese seabass The Japanese sea bass (''Lateolabrax japonicus'') is a species of catadromous marine ray-finned fish from the Asian sea bass family Lateolabracidae which is found in the Western Pacific. In Japan this species is known as . Description The Japa ...

(''Lateolabrax japonicus'') and

Blackfin seabass The blackfin seabass (''Lateolabrax latus'') is a Perciforme fish in the family lateolabracidae, found primarily in the shallow waters of the Pacific coast of Asia, in Japan and in South Korea. There are only two species in the genus Lateolabrax, ...

(''L. latus''), belong to the family

Lateolabracidae ''Lateolabrax'' is a genus of commercially important fishes known as the Asian seabasses. It is the only genus in the family Lateolabracidae. This genus is native to the coastal waters of the western Pacific Ocean. This genus has also been in ...

Other species known as bass

Many species are also known as basses, including: * The

Australian bass The Australian bass (''Macquaria novemaculeata'') is a small- to medium-sized species of primarily freshwater (but estuarine spawning) fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia. A member of the genus '' Macqua ...

, ''Macquaria novemaculeata'', is a member of the temperate perch family

Percichthyidae The members of the family Percichthyidae are known as the temperate perches. They belong to the order Perciformes, the perch-like fishes. The name Percichthyidae derives from the Latin ''perca'' for perch and Ancient Greek ἰχθύς, ''ichthy ...

. * The

black sea bass The black sea bass (''Centropristis striata'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the western Atl ...

, ''Centropristis striata'', is a member of the sea bass and sea grouper family

Serranidae The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some case ...

. * The

Chilean sea bass The Patagonian toothfish (''Dissostichus eleginoides'') is a species of notothen found in cold waters () between depths of in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and Southern Ocean on seamounts and continental shelves around most ...

, ''Dissostichus eleginoides'', also known as the Patagonian toothfish, is a member of the cod icefish family

Nototheniidae : ''In some scientific literature, the term "cod icefish" is used to identify members of this family. This should not be confused with the term "icefish," which refers to the "white-blooded" fishes of the family Channichthyidae. See Icefish (disam ...

. * The

giant sea bass The giant sea bass (''Stereolepis gigas'') is a fish native to the North Pacific Ocean. Although commonly referred to as a giant sea bass, black sea bass or giant black sea bass, it is actually a wreckfish in the family Polyprionidae rather than ...

''Stereolepis gigas'', also known as the black sea bass, is a member of the wreckfish family

Polyprionidae The wreckfish are a family, Polyprionidae in the suborder Percoidei of the order Perciformes. They are deep-water marine fish and can be found on the ocean bottom, where they inhabit caves and shipwrecks (thus their common name). Their scienti ...

. * The "lanternbellies" or "temperate ocean-basses",

Acropomatidae Acropomatidae is a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly known as lanternbellies. ''Acropoma'' species are notable for having light-emitting organs along their undersides. They are found in all temperate and tropical oceans, usually ...

. * The "

butterfly peacock bass ''Cichla ocellaris'', sometimes known as the butterfly peacock bass ("peacock bass" is also used for some of its relatives), is a very large species of cichlid from South America, and a prized game fish. It reaches in length. It is native to th ...

", ''Cichla ocellaris'', is a member of the cichlid family,

Cichlidae Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted thi ...

and a prized

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commerciall ...

along with its relatives in the genus ''

Cichla Peacock bass or Brazilian tucunaré are large freshwater cichlids of the genus ''Cichla''. These are diurnal predatory fishes native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas, in tropical South America. They are s ...

''.

Fishing

Largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass are the most popular game fish in North America. It is also very popular in South Africa. In the country, largemouth bass is often found in lakes, rivers, creeks, and dams. When fishing, lures ( Bass worms) or live bait will work. Lures that mimic baitfish, worms, crayfish, frogs, and mice are all effective.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bass (Fish) Fish common names