Large Mouth Bass
Source: USFWS/Duane
Raver
Scientific Name:
Micropterus
salmoides
Family: Centrarchidae (Sunfish Family)
Size: Approximately 14 to 38 inches. The largemouth bass is the largest fish in the sunfish family.
Description: The largemouth bass varies in color from black to dark green on top and light green on its sides, and white or light pink on its belly. The sides are marked from eye to tail with a dark band, which disappears with age.
Diet: Young largemouth bass eat microscopic animal plankton and tiny insect larvae. When they grow to about two inches long, there diet may consist of frogs, fish, and crayfish.
Habitat: The largemouth bass lives in warm, shallow, murky water of sluggish rivers, farm ponds, and reservoirs.
Status: The largemouth bass is not a special status species.
Interesting Information: Minnows and suckers sometimes lay eggs in a largemouth bass nest. The male bass will provide care for the other fishes but may eat them at a later time.
References:
National Audubon Society. 1998. Field Guide to California. Peter Alden et al. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
