FAMILY CENTRARCHIDAE 231 



bass are produced they are much larger in size than they would be if 

 more were produced. 



Although both species of bass occur in both lakes and streams, the 

 smallmouth bass is preeminently a fish of rivers of moderate size, where- 

 as the largemouth is most at home in moderate sized lakes with weedy 

 shores. The smallmouth also seems to flourish in moderately deep, 

 boulder-lined lakes. 



GENUS Huro Cuvier 



This genus contains only one species, which was formerly included 

 in the preceding genus, Micropterus, but was set apart in a separate 

 genus by Hubbs (1926) . 



LARGEMOUTH BASS (Black Bass, Green Bass, Oswego Bass, 

 Ah-she-gun of the Red Lake Chippewas) 



Huro salTnoides (Lacepede) 



The largemouth bass (Figure 41A) has suffered many name changes 

 in the past twenty years. For many years it was called Micropterus 

 sahnoides (Lacepede) ; then it successively became Aplites salmoides 

 (Lacepede) , Huro floridana (LeSueuj) , and finally Huro salmoides 

 (Lacepede) . 



The largemouth bass was originally found east of the Rockies from 

 Canada southward to Florida and Mexico. It has been widely intro- 

 duced elsewhere. In the northern states the largemouth reaches a 

 weight of over 8 pounds; it reaches double this weight in the southern 

 states. It differs from the smallmouth largely in the position of the 

 angle of the jaw, which reaches back to below the hind margin of the 

 eye, and in the number of scales on the cheek. It differs also in the ab- 

 sence of vertical bars and dark mottlings on the sides. A faint, dark, 

 horizontal stripe may be present on the sides. In fingerlings and young 

 this stripe is very distinct. 



Environmental differences exert a powerful influence on the appear- 

 ance of the largemouth bass. Those from clear-bottom lakes are a rather 

 bright dark green on the sides and silvery below, and the broad, blackish 

 band on the sides is almost as distinct as it is in the young. Adults from 

 mud-bottom lakes may shade from dark olive brown to deep black, 

 with the markings scarcely discernible, and the fry and very young are 

 almost colorless. 



The cheeks have about 10 or 11 rows of scales. There are 8 or 9 rows 

 of scales above the lateral line. The scales of the lateral line number 

 62-68. The dorsal fin has 10 spines, occasionally 9, and 12 or 13 soft 

 rays: the spinous portion is separated from the soft portion by a deep 

 notch. The anal fin has 2 to 4, usually 3 spines and 10 to 12 soft rays. 



