244 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
This bass is of wide distribution, apparently thriving best in the warmer waters of the United 
States, where it reaches the largest size. It is at home in sluggish streams, ponds, and lakes, and 
it enters brackish water freely. It is not a native of the Chesapeake region, having been first intro- 
duced in the Potomac River, according to Uhler and Lugger, prior to 1876, the date of publication 
of their “List of Fishes of Maryland.” These authors say: “Introduced into the Potomac River 
from the Youghioghany, and now abounds in some of the upper parts of that stream; likewise in 
the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and has become naturalized in Lake Roland near Baltimore.” 
While “black bass” is the most universally used name throughout the fish’s range, many 
local terms are used. In the Chesapeake region it is frequently called “chub” and in the South, 
“trout.” The largemouth black bass is one of the most sought-after game fish in the United States, 
particularly throughout the Mississippi Valley, to the Atlantic seaboard, and even down to the lower 
reaches of streams flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, where very large fish frequently are taken. In 
St. Andrews Bay, northwestern Florida, we have taken the largemouth black bass in brackish 
water along with spotted squeteage ( Cynoscion nebulosus) and blue crabs (Callinectes) . In the 
Potomac and other tributary streams of the Chesapeake, as elsewhere, it is an important food and 
game fish, but it is not abundant enough in the brackish waters to be considered of commercial 
value in connection with the fisheries of the bay. 
The following weights were obtained from Chesapeake Bay fish: Length 6J4 inches, 1.9 ounces 
(3 fish); 6H inches, 2.3 ounces (6 fish); 7 inches, 2.7 ounces (1 fish); 7)^ inches, 3.2 ounces (1 fish); 
8 inches, 4.2 ounces (1 fish); 12)^ inches, 17.3 ounces (1 fish). 
Habitat. — Great Lakes to southern Florida and Mexico. Through the activities of the Federal 
and State fish commissions it has been introduced into nearly every State in the Union and also- 
in Europe. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: None definitely from brackish water. (b) Speci- 
mens in collection: Havre de Grace and Howells Point, Md., and Lewisetta, Va. Highest salinity,. 
Lewisetta, August 6, 1921, 12.87 per mille. 
Family LIX. — MORONID/E. The white basses 
Body elongate, compressed; mouth large; teeth well developed, pointed, fixed; maxillary without 
a supplemental bone; scales of moderate size; dorsal fins separate. Two genera of important food 
fishes of this family are included in the fauna of Chesapeake Bay. 
KEY TO THE GENERA 
a. Body rather short and deep; jaws nearly equal; anal fin with III, 8 to 10 rays Morone, p. 244 
aa. Body more elongate; lower jaw projecting; anal fin with III, 10 to 12 rays Roccus, p. 247 
102. Genus MORONE Mitchill. White perches 
Body rather short and deep; jaws nearly equal; edge of tongue with linear patches of teeth;, 
lower margin of opercle finely serrate; scales rather large; dorsal fins more or less connected by mem- 
branes, the spines stout; anal fin short, with three strong spines and with 8 to 10 soft rays. 
133. Morone americana (Gmelin). White perch; “Blue-nosed perch”; “Gray perch”; Black perch. 
Perea americana Gmelin, Linnaeus’s Syst. Nat., ed. XIII, vol. I, pt. 3, 1788, p. 1205; New York. 
Morone americana Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 127; ed. II, p. 108; Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1134, PI. CLXXXI, 
fig. 479; Smith and Bean, 1899, p. 186; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 161; Fowler, 1912, p. 55; Snyder 1917, pp. 18 and 28. 
Roccus americanus Bean, 1883, p. 366. 
Head 2.6 to 2.95; depth 2.6 to 3.2; D. IX-I, 12; A. Ill, 8 to 10; scales 7-48 or 49. Body 
rather deep, compressed; back elevated; head rather low; snout pointed, 3.6 to 4.2; eye 3.2 to 
4.85; interorbital 4.6 to 5.65; mouth rather large, oblique, terminal or with the lower jaw slightly 
projecting; maxillary reaching about opposite anterior margin of pupil, 2.65 to 3.1 in head; teeth 
small, pointed, in bands on jaws, vomer, and palatines; opercle ending in two flat points; pre- 
opercular margin serrate; gill rakers rather slender, 13 or 14 on lower limb of first arch; scales 
strongly ctenoid, reduced scales extending on base of vertical fins, and forward on head to nostrils; 
dorsal fins separate, the spines large and strong; caudal fin slightly forked; anal fin with three 
