Perch
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Perch is a
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
for freshwater fish from the
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Perca'', which belongs to the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Percidae of the large order
Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. ''Perciformes'' means " perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters ( Percidae), and als ...
. The name comes from , meaning the
type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis''). Many species of freshwater
game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...
more or less resemble perch, but belong to different genera. In fact, the exclusively saltwater-dwelling red drum (which belong to a different order Acanthuriformes) is often referred to as a "red perch", though by definition perch are freshwater species. Though many fish are referred to as perch as a common name, to be considered a true perch, the fish must be of the family Percidae.


Species

Most authorities recognize three species within the perch genus: * The European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') is primarily found in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, but a few can also be found in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and even as far east on the Southern hemisphere as
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. This species is typically greenish in color with dark vertical bars on its sides with a red or orange coloring in the tips of its fins. The European perch has been successfully introduced in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, where it is known as the redfin perch or English perch. In Australia, larger specimens have been bred, but the species rarely grows heavier than . * The Balkhash perch (''P. schrenkii'') is found in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, (in Lake Balkhash and Lake Alakol),
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It has a dark gray/black color on its dorsal side, but the ventral areas of the fish are a lighter silver or even sometimes green color. The Balkhash perch also displays the vertical bars on its sides, similar to the European and yellow perches. In the latter half of the 20th century, the Balkhash perch was introduced into the basins of the Nuru and Chu rivers. The introduction of these fishes to the Nuru and Chu rivers was successful. Because of this success, the population of Balkhash perch in the Balkhash Lake is rarer now. They are similar in size to the yellow and European perches, weighing around . * The yellow perch (''P. flavescens''), smaller and paler than the European perch (but otherwise nearly identical), is found in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. In northern areas, it is sometimes referred to as the lake perch. This species is prized for its food quality and has often been raised in hatcheries and introduced into areas in which it is not native. These fish typically only reach a size of about and .


Anatomy


External anatomy

Perch have a long and round body shape which allows for fast swimming in the water. True perch have "rough" or ctenoid scales. Perch have paired pectoral and
pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...
s, and two dorsal fins, the first one spiny and the second soft. These two fins can be separate or joined. The head consists of the skull (formed from loosely connected bones), eyes,
mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...
, operculum,
gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...
s, and a pair of nostrils (which has no connection to the oral cavity). They have small brush-like teeth across their jaws and on the roof of their mouth. The gills are located under the operculum on both sides of the head and are used to extract oxygen molecules from water and expel carbon dioxide; the gills have gill rakers inside the mouth. External anatomy can be used to determine the sex of perch in multiple ways. Perch have two posterior openings located on their abdomen, the anal and
urogenital The genitourinary system, or urogenital system, are the sex organs of the reproductive system and the organ (biology), organs of the urinary system. These are grouped together because of their proximity to each other, Development of the urinary a ...
. In males, the shape of the urogenital opening is round and larger than the anal opening. In females, the urogenital opening is often a V- or U-shape which is a similar size to the anal opening. Also, males usually have a more brown-red colored urogenital opening compared to females.


Internal anatomy

The
esophagus The esophagus (American English), oesophagus (British English), or œsophagus (Œ, archaic spelling) (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, see spelling difference) all ; : ((o)e)(œ)sophagi or ((o)e)(œ)sophaguses), c ...
is a flexible tube that goes from the mouth to the stomach. The
stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...
is connected to the intestine via the
pyloric sphincter The pylorus ( or ) connects the stomach to the duodenum. The pylorus is considered as having two parts, the ''pyloric antrum'' (opening to the body of the stomach) and the ''pyloric canal'' (opening to the duodenum). The ''pyloric canal'' ends a ...
. The intestines of perch consist of the
small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ (anatomy), organ in the human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract where most of the #Absorption, absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intes ...
and
large intestine The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the Digestion, digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces befor ...
; the intestines have many pyloric caeca and a spiral value, the small intestine consists of a part called the
duodenum The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In mammals, it may be the principal site for iron absorption. The duodenum precedes the jejunum and ileum and is the shortest p ...
. The
spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...
is located after the stomach and before the spiral value. The spleen is connected to the
circulatory system In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart ...
, not part of the
digestive tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the Digestion, digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascula ...
. The
liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...
is composed of three lobes: one small lobe (includes the gall bladder) and two large lobes. Perch have long and narrow
kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...
s that contain clusters of
nephron The nephron is the minute or microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney. It is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The renal corpuscle consists of a tuft of capillaries called a glomerulus and a cup-shaped structu ...
s which empty into the mesonephric duct. They have a two-chambered
heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
consisting of four compartments: the sinus venous, one atrium, one ventricle, and conus. Perch have a swim bladder that helps control
buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is the force exerted by a fluid opposing the weight of a partially or fully immersed object (which may be also be a parcel of fluid). In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of t ...
or floating within the water, the swim bladder is only found in bony fish. In perch, the duct connecting the swim bladder to the
pharynx The pharynx (: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the human mouth, mouth and nasal cavity, and above the esophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs respectively). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates ...
is closed so air is unable to pass through from the mouth, these fish are called ''physoclists''. Specifically in perch, the gas bladder can vary from 12% to 25% of
oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
and 1.4% to 2.9% of
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
gas. Perch reproductive organs include either a pair of testes (sperm-producing) or a pair of
ovaries The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are endocr ...
(egg-producing).


Habitats

Perch are classified as
carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they ar ...
s, choosing waters where smaller fish, shellfish, zooplankton, and insect
larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e are abundant. The yellow perch can be found in the central parts of the United States in freshwater ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers. These fish can be found in freshwater all over the world, and are known to inhabit the Great Lake region, in particular
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
. These fish inhabit bodies of water where vegetation and debris is readily accessible. In the spring when the perch chooses to spawn, they use vegetation to conceal their eggs from predators.


Fishing

Perch are a popular sport fish species. They are known to put up a fight, and to be good for eating. They can be caught with a variety of methods, including float fishing, lure fishing, and legering. Fly fishing for perch using patterns that imitate small fry or invertebrates can be successful. The record weight for this fish in Britain is , the Netherlands , and in America . The biggest recorded catch in Sweden is 3.15 kg (6lb 15oz) in 1985. Perch grow to around and or more, but the most common size caught are around and or less and anything over and is considered a prize catch.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Game fish Vermont cuisine Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus