48o Roosevelt ]]'Ud Life .hiiials 



son ('13, p. 414) found the nests to be well-excavated, nearly round (12-18 

 in. across) and with grass roots at the bottom. Forbes and Richardson ('09, 

 p. 268) say that the nests are built by the males among fallen leaves or fibrous 

 rootlets in sand or gravel. Spawning has apparently not often been observed, 

 which may be due to its taking place at dusk, according to Reighard ('06, p. 15) 

 wild gives an account of spawning in artificial ponds near Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

 The female in this case was somewhat darker colored than the male and had a 

 more distended abdomen. "The male was in the nest or near it and repeatedly 

 the female approached. The male circled to her outer side and bit her flank and 

 she then went away. Three or four other bass, probably males, were seen ten 

 or fifteen feet outside the nest. I returned at 7 P. M. and found the same condi- 

 tions. The female was seen to approach the nest and to turn on her side with her 

 head pointed obliquely downward and to float thus, as though half dead. In this 

 position she entered the nest and the male followed and took up a similar position. 

 What happened in the nest could not be clearly seen. The tails of the two fish 

 could be seen and from their position it was clear that the fish lay side by side 

 on the bottom with their tails together and parallel. It could also be seen that 

 sometimes one and sometimes apparently the other fish lay turned partly on its 

 side. At this time no doubt the eggs were emitted. After being in the nest for a 

 short time the fish came out, and the female was seen to be still floating, head 

 downward. They then returned to the nest and continued thus for half an hour, 

 alternately lying on the bottom within the nest and floating on its border. It was 

 then too dark to make further observations. 



"That the male of the Large-mouthed Bass habitually receives more than one 

 female into his nest or receives the same female a second time after a considerable 

 interval is shown by the fact that in three nests in which the eggs were examined 

 in their earlier stages some were found that had been recently laid and others that 

 had been laid for forty-eight hours." Forbes and Richardson ('09, p. 269) hold 

 that the male seeks the female and that the spawning is intermittent. The eggs are 

 adhesive and several thousand are laid by one fish (Smith, '07, p. 247; Lydell, 

 '04, p. 40"). They adhere to roots, stones, or other objects in the nest bdttoni. 

 They hatch in S to lo days, according to Forbes and Richanlsim ('(«). p. 2C>9), 

 but Reighard ('03b, p. 15) says the eggs are hatched usually at the end of three 

 days. They are guarded by the male and sometimes by both parents (Smith, '07, 

 p. 247; Hankinson, '08, p. 214). The young are also attended by the fish during 

 the time they arc in and abimt the nest (Reighard, '06. p. \f->: Smith, '07. ji. 247). 

 The young may rcniiiin in the nest a week or ten days (Bc.an. '03. ]i. 41)2). .\fter 

 leaving it they swim in compact sclmols. Richardson ('13. ]>. 413) noted (looo 

 young in two schools. 



Large-mouthed Black l^irtss in;iy reach a wci.Ljbt of J^ pounds (Bean. '03. p. 

 492), but seldom do they exceed eight ]ionnds. Isnibndy ('15, ]). 2j/) notes that 

 they may grow to a length of 3 inches in five months: in one year, 5-6 inches, and 

 in two years, 8-10 inches. Nichols and Hcilner ('20, p. 1) record the known 

 maximum size of the species to be 76^ lbs., and 343/j inches in length. 



Habitat. Large-mouthed Black Bass were very generally distributed in the 

 shallow waters of Onei<la Lake ;uid in its tribut;u-\- streams for short dist.ances 



