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Bass Biology, Behavior, Habits & Anatomy
Art shown from Florida Game &
Fresh Water Fish Commission's Black
Bass |
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Distribution of Black Basses in North America:
The database from which the map data is derived is maintained
by the Texas
Natural History Collection of the Texas Memorial Museum of
the University of Texas at Austin. The subspecies definitions are
derived from Florida
Game and Freshwater Fishing Commission data. Nonindigenous
Aquatic Species (NAS) information is derived from resources for
the United States Geological
Survey, located at the Florida
Caribbean Science Center.
- Largemouth Bass - Micropterus salmoides
1802 [ Map
| NAS
]
- Two subspecies are recognized: the northern largemouth (M.
s. salmoides) and the Florida largemouth (M.
s. floridanus). The two look much the same, but the
Florida largemouth has 69-73 scales along the lateral line
compared to the northern largemouth's 59-65 scales. Florida bass
grow to trophy size more readily than northern largemouth in warm
waters. There is also mention of a largemouth (M. s.
ssp. 1) found in the Cuatro Ciénegas ecosytem near
Coahuila, Mexico.
-
- Smallmouth Bass - Micropterus dolomieu
1802 [ Map
| NAS
]
-
- Spotted Bass - Micropterus punctulatus
1819 [ Map
| NAS
]
- Three subspecies are recognized: the northern spotted bass (M.
p. punctulatus) has 60 to 68 scales along the
lateral line, the Alabama spotted bass (M. p.
henshalli) has 68 to 75 scales along the lateral
line, and the Wichita spotted bass (M. p. wichitae)
usually has 13 dorsal rays and often lacks rows of black spots
along lower side of body. Spotted bass can be found from Texas to
the Florida panhandle including Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and
Kentucky. The Wichita spotted bass (thought by some to be
extinct) is limited to the West Cache Creek, Oklahoma. The
Alabama spotted bass has been introduced into California.
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- Guadalupe Bass - Micropterus treculi
1874 [ Map
| NAS
]
-
- Redeye Bass - Micropterus coosae
1940 [ Map
| NAS
], Shoal Bass - Micropterus cataractae [
NAS
]
- No recognized subspecies. There has always been some
disagreement as to whether the Apalachicola form (Shoal Bass)
found in the Apalachicola River system in Florida and in the
Chattahoochee, Chestatee and Flint rivers in Georgia and Alabama
is the same as the Alabama form (Redeye Bass) found in Alabama,
Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina or a different species. The
Apalachicola form (shoal bass) can normally be distinguished by a
dark spot at the base of the tail and one on the gill cover. In
1999, the shoal bass was officially recognized as a new species,
and it has been given its own a scientific name (cataractae).
-
- Suwannee Bass - Micropterus notius
1949 [ Map
| NAS
]
- It is a distinct species with no known subspecies and no
nonindigeneous stock.
Additional resources for bass biology, behavior, habits, and
anatomy:
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