Bass (; : bass) is a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

shared by many species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

from the large

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Percomorpha Percomorpha () is an extremely large and diverse clade of ray-finned fish. With more than 17,000 known species (including Scombroidei, tuna, Syngnathiformes, seahorses, gobies, Cichlidae, cichlids, flatfish, Labridae, wrasse, Perciformes, perches ...

, mainly belonging to the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. ''Perciformes'' means " perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters ( Percidae), and als ...

and Moroniformes, encompassing both

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

and marine species. The word ''bass'' comes from

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

, meaning " perch", despite that none of the commonly referred bass species belong to the perch

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Percidae.

Types

* The black basses, such as the Choctaw bass (''Micropterus haiaka''), Guadalupe bass (''M. treculii''),

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

(''M. salmoides''),

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

(''M. dolomieu''), and

spotted bass The spotted bass (''Micropterus punctulatus''), also called spotty, or spots in various fishing communities, is a species of North American freshwater fish belonging to the sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), ...

(''M. punctulatus''), belong to the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Micropterus ''Micropterus'' is a genus of North American freshwater fish collectively known as the black bass, which belong to the sunfish family (biology), family Centrarchidae of order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. They are sometimes erroneously cal ...

'' of the sunfish family Centrarchidae. * The temperate basses, such as the European seabass (''Dicentrarchus labrax''),

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...

(''Morone saxatilis'') and

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12–15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with whit ...

(''M. chrysops''), belong to the two

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

genera '' Dicentrarchus'' and '' Morone'' of the family Moronidae. * The Asian seabasses, such as the Japanese seabass (''Lateolabrax japonicus'') and Blackfin seabass (''L. latus''), belong to the genus '' Lateolabrax'' of the family Lateolabracidae.

Other species known as bass

Many species are also known as basses, including: * The Australian bass, ''Macquaria novemaculeata'', is a member of the temperate perch family Percichthyidae. * The black sea bass, ''Centropristis striata'', is a member of the sea bass and sea grouper family

Serranidae Serranidae is a large family (biology), family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, ...

. * The Chilean sea bass, ''Dissostichus eleginoides'', also known as the Patagonian toothfish, is a member of the cod icefish family Nototheniidae. * The giant sea bass ''Stereolepis gigas'', also known as the black sea bass, is a member of the wreckfish family Polyprionidae. * The "lanternbellies" or "temperate ocean-basses", Acropomatidae. * The " butterfly peacock bass", ''Cichla ocellaris'', is a member of the cichlid family, Cichlidae and a prized

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...

along with its relatives in the genus '' Cichla''.

Fishing

Largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass are the most popular game fish in North America. It is also very popular in South Africa. In the continent, largemouth bass are often found in lakes, rivers, creeks, and dams. When fishing, lures ( bass worms), live bait, spinner baits, jig bait, jerkbait and crank bait will work well. Lures that mimic baitfish, worms, crayfish, frogs, and mice are all effective. Fishing with a small mepps or rooster tail in-line spinner is very effective for creek fishing, when bass are scouting for small baitfish. In open water, lures that cover the water quickly such as spoons, spinners and lipless crankbaits. During the fall and winter months, bass will be less active and eat less. In this situation, one can fish with suspending lures or slow lures like ned rig, suspending jerkbaits. In the summertime, one can throw lures that float or sink 2–4ft since bass come to shallow areas and prefer faster lures.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bass (Fish) Fish common names