''Micropterus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

collectively known as the black bass, belonging to the sunfish

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Perciformes. They are sometimes erroneously called "black trout", but the name

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

more correctly refers to certain members of the

salmonid Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...

family. The black bass are widely distributed east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, from the

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

basin in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to northeastern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Several species, notably the largemouth and smallmouth bass, have been very widely introduced throughout the world, and are now considered

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

. All black bass species are highly sought-after game fish and well known as strong fighters when hooked, and bass fishing is an extremely popular

outdoor sport Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

throughout their native range. Their meat is eaten, being quite edible and firm, although they are not regarded as commercial

food fish Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...

. All ''Micropterus'' species have a dull-green base coloring with dark patterns on the sides. Most reach a maximum overall length of , but some strains of the

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 ...

have been reported to grow to almost a full meter (just over 3 feet) in length. In spawning seasons, the male builds a "bed" (nest) in which a female is induced to deposit her

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s, then he externally fertilizes them. The male continues to guard the eggs and fry until they disperse from the nest. Various species have been introduced into freshwater bodies in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where they have been declared nuisance fish, and subjected to numerous attempts at eradicating them from local ecosystems.

Species

Currently, 13 recognized species are placed in this genus: * ''

Micropterus cahabae ''Micropterus'' is a genus of North American freshwater fish collectively known as the black bass, belonging to the sunfish family (biology), family Centrarchidae of order (biology), order Perciformes. They are sometimes erroneously called "bla ...

'' W. H. Baker, Blanton & C. E. Johnston, 2013 (Cahaba bass) Baker, W.H., Blanton, R.E. & Johnston, C.E. (2013): Diversity within the Redeye Bass, ''Micropterus coosae'' (Perciformes: Centrarchidae) species group, with descriptions of four new species. ''Zootaxa, 3635 (4): 379–401.'' * '' Micropterus cataractae''

J. D. Williams J.D. Williams (born May 22, 1978) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the HBO television programs '' Oz'' as Kenny Wangler, ''The Wire'' as Bodie Broadus and ''Pootie Tang'' as Froggy, ''Surviving Family'' (2012) as Bobby, ''T ...

& G. H. Burgess, 1999 (shoal bass) * '' Micropterus chattahoochae'' W. H. Baker, Blanton & C. E. Johnston, 2013 (Chattahoochee bass) * ''

Micropterus coosae The Redeye bass, Redeye, or Coosa Bass (''Micropterus coosae'') is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) native to the Coosa River system of Georgia, Alabama. The waters it is normally found in are cool streams and r ...

'' C. L. Hubbs & R. M. Bailey, 1940 (redeye bass) * '' Micropterus dolomieu''

Lacépède Lacepede can refer to: * Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756–1825), French naturalist and politician. * Lacepede Bay, a bay in South Australia. * Lacépède, Lot-et-Garonne, a ''commune'' in France * Lacepede Islands, a group of four islands in t ...

, 1802 (smallmouth bass)

* '' Micropterus floridanus'' ( Lesueur, 1822) (Florida bass) * '' Micropterus henshalli'' C. L. Hubbs & R. M. Bailey, 1940 (Alabama bass) * '' Micropterus notius'' R. M. Bailey & C. L. Hubbs, 1949 (Suwannee bass) Micropterus notius (white background)

* ''

Micropterus punctulatus 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 ...

'' Rafinesque, 1819 (spotted bass) * ''

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

, 1802 (largemouth bass) Largemouth bass - DPLA - (white background)

* '' Micropterus tallapoosae'' W. H. Baker, Blanton & C. E. Johnston, 2013 (Tallapoosa bass) * '' Micropterus treculii'' ( Vaillant & Bocourt, 1874) (Guadalupe bass) * '' Micropterus warriorensis'' W. H. Baker, Blanton & C. E. Johnston, 2013 (warrior bass) A 14th species, the Choctaw bass ''Micropterus haiaka'', has been proposed, but this does not yet appear to have been widely accepted. A further two species, the Altamaha bass and Bartram's bass, are as yet undescribed and have been included under the redeye bass. A genomic analysis in 2022 described new species and found that the

binomial Binomial may refer to: In mathematics *Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms * Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials *Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition ...

s, ''M. salmoides'' and ''M. floridanus'' as used above are misapplied to the largemouth bass and the Florida bass, this study found that ''M. salmoides'' is the valid binomial for the Florida bass, while ''M. floridanus'', is its

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

. They also found that the oldest available binomial for the largemouth bass is ''M. nigricans''.

References

{{Authority control Lepominae Ray-finned fish genera Freshwater fish genera Symbols of Mississippi * Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède

Species

See also

References