The Ozark bass (''Ambloplites constellatus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

) of 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 ...

. It is native only to the White River,

Sac River The Sac River (pronounced, sock) is a river in the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 31, 2011 with headwaters in western Green ...

, James River, and Pomme de Terre river drainages of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

.the species is commonly referred to as “goggle-eye”.

Description

The Ozark bass is a comparatively slender species of

rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

with a large eye which has a red

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

. The brownish-green body has an irregular pattern of black-speckling. This species attains a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of but they are normally around and the maximum published weight is .

Distribution

The Ozark bass is native to the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

upland reaches of the White River system in Missouri and Arkansas. They have been introduced elsewhere but have failed to establish populations in these areas.

Habitat and biology

The Ozark bass occurs in creeks and small to medium permanent rivers with high levels of dissolved oxygen, plentiful aquatic vegetation, low turbidity and sand or rocky beds substrates with a preference for clear rocky pools close to the banks, boulders, or submerged wood. Males create nests in gravel or small stone substrates and these normally situated around a metre of cover. Spawning starts when the water temperature reaches 17 °C The male excavates a nest in sand or gravel which is in diameter at depths of . The females lay eggs in the nest which the male guards the nest until the fry depart.

Relationship with humans

They are a popular game fish in small streams and rivers. The

IGFA The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current World Record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers are careful to follow their string ...

world record for the species is a fiveway tie with fish weighing 0.45 kg (1 lb 0oz) caught from

Bull Shoals Lake Bull Shoals Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. It has hundreds of miles of lake arms and coves, and common activities include boating, water sports, swimming, and fishing. Nin ...

in Arkansas and the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

in Missouri.

References

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

''Ambloplites constellatus''
* *

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) is a state agency of Arkansas, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Steve N. Wilson of Norfork, Arkansas joined the agency in 1968 and became its director in 1979. He resigned in 2000 and died in 2021. I ...

* * https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/northern-rock-bass-goggle-eye {{Taxonbar, from=Q3756846 Ambloplites Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Freshwater fish of the United States Fish described in 1977 Taxa named by Robert Cashner Taxa named by Royal Dallas Suttkus Endemic fauna of Arkansas