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Micropterus punctulatus

Micropterus punctulatus (Source)

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Osteichthyes
Classis: Actinopterygii
Subclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Ordo: Perciformes
Subordo: Percoidei
Superfamilia: Percoidea
Familia: Centrarchidae
Genus: Micropterus
Species: Micropterus punctulatus

Name

Micropterus punctulatus (Rafinesque, 1819)

References

* Micropterus punctulatus Report on ITIS

Vernacular Names
English: Spotted Bass, Kentucky Bass

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The Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus) is a species of freshwater fish sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. One of the black basses, it is native to the Mississippi River basin and across the Gulf States, from central Texas through the Florida panhandle. Its native range extends into the western Mid-Atlantic States and it has been introduced into eastern North Carolina and Virginia. It has also been introduced to southern Africa, where it has become established in some isolated waters. It is often mistaken with the similar and more common largemouth bass.

A convenient way to distinguish between a largemouth bass and a spotted bass is by the size of the mouth. A spotted bass will resemble a largemouth bass in coloration but will have a smaller mouth.

M. punctulatus can reach an overall length of almost 64 cm (25 in), reaching weights of up to 4.6 kg (10 lb). It can reach an age of at least seven years. It is noted for the pattern of irregularly-shaped dark spots on its upper body, which give it its common name.

Preferring cool and warm mountain streams and reservoirs with rocky bottoms, the spotted bass feeds on insects, crustaceans, frogs, annelid worms, and smaller fish.

It has now been determined that the "Spotted Bass" found in the Tallapoosa and Coosa Rivers, and their lakes, are a new species, now known as the "Alabama Bass".

References

* FishBase: Micropterus punctulatus
* Micropterus punctulatus (TSN 168163). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
* Rohde, F. C., et al. Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

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Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License