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The largemouth bass
(Micropterus salmoides) is a species of freshwater fish in the
sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. One of the
black basses, it is native to a wide area east of the Rocky Mountains
in North America, encompassing the Mississippi River basin, the
Saint Lawrence River–Great Lakes system, and up into the
Hudson Bay basin, as well as down into Florida, Texas, and northeastern
Mexico. The largemouth bass is marked by a series of dark blotches
forming a ragged horizontal stripe along the length of each side,
and its upper jaw extends beyond the back of the eye. The largest
of the black basses, it has reached a maximum recorded overall
length of 97 cm (38 in), and a maximum recorded weight of 10 kg
(22 lb). It can live as long as 23 years.
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M. salmoides
prefers a habitat of warm, calm, clear water and is usually found
in slow-moving streams, ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. A predatory
fish, the largemouth bass eats other fish, frogs, crayfish, even
small ducklings—any animals it can swallow. It is reported
to be cannibalistic. The young feed primarily on smaller crustaceans
and fish, as well as insects. M. salmoidesFemales can lay up to
a million eggs during each spawning. This species is highly sought
after for recreational fishing. It has been very widely introduced
for this purpose throughout the world, and is now considered cosmopolitan.
In some counties, its introduction has damaged ecosystems and
harmed native species, and IUCN considers it one of the world's
100 worst invasive species.
Images 1 Through 3 Are
From U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Image Number 4 Is Courtesy of The USDA
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