## NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species

Dave Fuller © Micropterus salmoides (Largemouth Bass) Fishes Native Transplant 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

1 of 8 4/20/2016 4:14 PMUSGS, Florida Integrated Science Center © 

### Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède, 1802)

Common name: Largemouth Bass Taxonomy: available through www.itis.gov

Identification: Becker (1983); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994); Moyle (2002); Page and Burr (2011).
Size: 97 cm. Native Range: St. Lawrence and Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (R ed River), and Mississippi River basins from southern Quebec to Minnesota and south to the Gulf ; Atlantic Slope drainages from North Carolina to Florida; Gulf Slope drainages from southern Flor ida into northern Mexico (Page and Burr 2011). 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

2 of 8 4/20/2016 4:14 PMAlaska auto-generated map Alaska Hawaii auto-generated map Hawaii Caribbean auto-generated map Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands Guam auto-generated map Guam Saipan

Native range data for this species provided in part by NatureServe Nonindigenous Occurrences : The Largemouth Bass is reported in Arkansas (Pritchard et al. 1978); Arizona (Miller and Lowe 1967; Minckley 1973; Behnke and Benson 1980; Hendrickson et al. 1980; Tyus et al. 1982; Tilmant 1999; USFWS 2005); California (Smith 1896; Shebley 1917; Neale 1931; Moyle 1976a; Hubbs et al. 1979; Shapovalov et al. 1981; U.S. Fish and Wild life Service 1993e, 2005; Tilmant 1999; Sommer et al. 2001; Matern et al. 2002; Bryan 1969); Colorado (Beckman 1952; Everhart and Seaman 1971; Holden and Stalnake r 1975; Behnke and Benson 1980; Tyus et al. 1982; Propst and Carlson 1986; Rasmusen 1998; Tilmant 1999); Connecticut (Behnke and Wetzel 1960; Whitworth et al. 1968; Schmidt 1986; Whitworth 1996; Tilmant 1999); Delaware (Raasch and Altemus 1991); District of Columbia (Tilmant 1999); Georgia (Pritchard et al. 1978); Hawaii (Brock 1960; Maciolek 1984); Idaho (Smith 1896; Linder 1963; Idaho Fi sh and Game 1990; Anonymous 2004); Illinois (Burr, personal communication); Iowa (Bailey and Allum 1962); Kansas (Cross 1967; Tilmant 1999); Kentucky (Burr and Warren 1986); Maine (Kendall 1914a; Everhart 1976; Schmidt 1986; Mallard 2003); Maryland (Ferguson 1876; Truitt et al. 1929; Tilmant 1999; Starnes et al. 2011); Massachusetts (Schmidt 1986; Hartel 1992; Hartel et al. 1996; Tilmant 1999; USFWS 2005; Grice 1956); Michigan (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.); Minnesota (Phillips et al. 1 982; Tilmant 1999); Mississippi (Pritchard et al. 1978); Missouri (Pflieger 1971, 1975; Renken 2002 ); Montana (Cross et al. 1986; Holton 1990; Tilmant 1999; Mann 2004); Nebraska (Morris et al. 1974); Nevada (Miller and Alcorn 1946; La Rivers 1962; Bradley and Deacon 1967; Hubbs et al. 1974; De acon and Williams 1984; Insider Viewpoint 2001; USFWS 2005; Vi nyard 2001; Tilmant 1999); New Hampshire (Scarola 1973; Schmidt 1986); New Jersey (Nelson 1890; Fowler 1952; Soldwedel, personal communication; USFWS 2005); New Mexico (Tyus et al. 1982; Sublette et al. 1990); New York (Smith 1985; Schmidt 1986; Whittier et al. 2000; USFWS 2005); North Carolina (Menhinick 1991); North Dakota (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; US auto-generated map 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

3 of 8 4/20/2016 4:14 PMCross et al. 1986); Oklahoma (Miller and Robison 1973); Oregon (Smith 1896; Wydoski and Whitney 1979; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1993e, 2005; Bo nd 1994; Logan et al. 1996; State of Oregon 2000; Anonymous 2001; Ridler 2004); Pennsylvania (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Copper 1983; Hocutt et al. 1986; Schmidt 1986; Tilmant 1999); Rhode Island (Lapin, personal communication); South Dakota (Bailey and Allum 1962; Cross et al. 1986); Texas (Kraai et al. 1983; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 1993; Red River Authority 2001); Utah (Smith 1896; Sharp 1898; Sigler and Miller 1963; Behnke and Benson 1980; Tyus et al. 1982; Tilmant 1999); Vermont (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Tilmant 1999); Virginia (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Hocutt et al. 1986 ; Jenkins and Burkhead 1994; Tilmant 1999; Starnes et al. 2011); Washington (Smith 1896; Gray and Dauble 1977; Wydoski and Whitney 1979; Tilmant 1999; USFWS 2005; Four Seas ons Campground and Resort 2003); West Virginia (Stauffer et al. 1995); Wisconsin (Becker 1983); and Wyoming (Baxter and Simon 1970; Behnke and Benson 1980; Tyus et al. 1982; Cross et al. 1986; Hubert 1994; Tilmant 1999). The Largemouth Bass is also stocked in Puerto Rico (Erdsman 1984; Lee et al 1983).
Means of Introduction: This species has been an important sport fish for many years and as such has been stocked widely in areas where it is nonind igenous. Intentional stocking for sportfishing. Status: Established in most locations. Impact of Introduction: Introduced bass usually affect popula tions of small native fishes through predation, sometimes resulting in the decline or extinction of such species (Minckley 1973). Species that have suffered such effects include relict dace Relictus solitarius , Clover Valley speckled dace Rhinichthys osculus oligoporus , Independence Valley tui chub Gila bicolor lethoporus(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1985b), a distinct population of Gila chub G. intermedia , Monkey Spring pupfish Cyprinodon sp. (Minckley 1973), White River springfish Crenichthys baileyi , Pahranagat roundtail chub Gila robusta jordani (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1985b), Owens pupfish Cyprinodon radiosus(Miller and Pister 1971), wild brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis(Boucher 2003), and White River spinedace Lepidomeda albivallis(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1994e). Jenkins an d Burkhead (1994) speculated that introduced Largemouth Bass may have contributed to the demise of an isolated population of trout-perch Percopsis omiscomaycusin the Potomac River in Virginia and Maryland. Introduced predatory centrarchids are likely responsible for the decline of native ranid frogs in California, California tiger salamander Ambystoma californiense populations (Hayes and Jennings 1986; Di ll and Cordone 1997), and th e Chiricahua leopard frog Rana chiricahuensis in southeastern Arizona (Rosen et al. 1995). In Squa w Creek Reservoir in northcentral Texas, introduced Florida largemouth intergrade with native northern largemouth (W hitmore and Hellier 1988). Nonnative predators, including Largemouth Ba ss, have been shown to reduce the abundance and diversity of native prey species in several Pacific Northwest rivers (H ughes and Herlihy 2012). The presence of Largemouth Bass, along with other introduced piscivores, reduced the richness of native minnow communities in Adirondack lakes (Findlay et al. 2000).
Remarks: This account includes introductions of both subspecies M. s. salmoides , the northern Largemouth Bass, and M. s. floridanus , the Florida Largemouth Bass. Fo r instance, both subspecies have been introduced into Nevada (Deacon and Williams 198 4). Tyus et al. (1982) gave a distribution map of the this species in the upper Co lorado basin. MacCrimmo n and Robbins (1975) showed a map depicting this species' native and introduced range. Jenkin s and Burkhead (1994) reported the largemouth as introduced into the Roanoke drainage in Virginia. Recently prehistoric bones of M. salmoideswere discovered near the Roanoke River in Roanoke, Virg inia, indicating that the species is native there (Jenkins, personal communication). Introduced Florida Largemouth Bass are known tohybridize with native populations of northern Largemouth Bass (W hitmore and Hellier 1988), with introgression of Florida bass genes into populations occurring rapidly (Gelwick et al. 1995) and di spersing away from original introduction/stocking si tes (Ray et al. 2012).
References: Anonymous 2001. Oregon's Warm Water Fishing with Public Access. [online]. URL at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/warm _water_fishing/index.asp. 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

4 of 8 4/20/2016 4:14 PMBaxter, G.T., and J.R. Simon. 1970. Wyoming fi shes. Bulletin No. 4, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Cheyenne, WY. Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. Un iversity of Madison Press, Madison, WI. Behnke, R.J. and R.M. Wetzel. 1960. A preliminary list of the fishes found in the fresh waters of Connecticut. Copeia 2:141-143. Behnke, R.J. and D.E. Benson. 1980. Endangered an d threatened fishes of the upper Colorado River basin. Bulletin 503A, Cooperative Extension Service, Colorado State University, Ft Collins, CO. Bond, C.E. 1994. Keys to Oregon freshwater fishes . Oregon State University Bookstores, Corvallis, OR. Boucher, D. 2003. Illegal fish stockings threaten Maine lakes and rivers. Available online at URL http://www.state.me.us Bradley, W.G., and J.E. Deacon. 1967. The biotic communities of southern Nevada. Nevada State Museum Anthropological PapersNo. 13, Part 4. 201-273. Brock, V. E. 1960. The introduction of aquatic anim als into Hawaiian waters. Internationale Revue der gesamten Hydrobiologie 45(4):463-480. Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Universi ty Press. University Park, PA. 243 pp. Deacon, J.E. and J.E. Williams. 1 984. Annotated list of the fishesof Nevada. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 97(1):103-118. Dill, W.A., and A.J. Cordone. 1997. History and stat us of introduced fishesin California, 1871-1996. California Department of Fish an d Game Fish Bulletin, volume 178. Erdsman, D.S. 1984. Exotic fishes in Puerto Rico. 16 2-176 in W.R. Courtenay, Jr. and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. eds. Distribution, biology, and management of ex otic fishes. John Hopkins. Baltimore and London. Etnier, D.A., and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The fishesof Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN. Everhart, W.H. and W.R. Seaman. 1971. Fishes of Colorado. Colorado Game, Fish and Parks Division Denver, CO. Ferguson, T.B. 1876. Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of Maryland to the General Assembly. January 1, 1876. John F Wiley Annapolis, MD. Findlay, C.S., D.G. Bert, and L. Zheng. 2000. Effe ct of introduced piscivores on native minnow communities in Adirondack lakes. Canadian Jour nal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57:570-580. http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f99-276 Gelwick, F.P., E.R. Gilliland, and W.J. Matthews. 1995. Introgression of the Florida largemouth bass genome into stream populations of northern largemouth bass in Oklahoma. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 124(4):550-560. Hartel, K. 1992. Non-native fishesknown from Massachuse tts freshwaters. Occasional Reports of the MCZ Fish Department 1992(2):1-9. Hartel, K.E., D.B. Halliwell, and A.E. Launer. 2 002. Inland fishes of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, MA. Hayes, M.P., and M.R. Jennings. 1986. Decline of ranid frog species in western North America: are bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) responsible? Journal of Herpetology 20(4):490-509. Hendrickson, D.A., W.L. Minckley, R. R. Miller, D.J. Seibert, and P.H. Minckley. 1980. Fishes of the Río Yaqui basin, México and United States. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

5 of 8 4/20/2016 4:14 PM15(3):65-106. Hocutt, C.H., R.E. Jenkins, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1986. Zoogeography of th e fishes of the central Appalachians and central Atlantic Coastal Plain. 161-212 in C.H. Hocutt and E.O. Wiley, eds. The zoogeography of North American freshwaterfishes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY. Hughes, R.M. and A.T. Herl ihy. 2012. Patterns in catch per unit e ffort of native prey fish and alien piscivorous fish in 7 Pacific Northwes t USA rivers. Fisher ies 37(5):201-211. Insider Viewpoint. 2001. Fishing Records – Nevada. Insider Viewpoint Magazine. 3 pp. Jenkins, R.E., and N.M. Burkhead. 1994. FreshwaterFishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD. Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, NC. Linder, A. D. 1963. Idaho's Al ien Fishes. TEBIWA, 6(2), 12-15. Logan, D., E.L. Bibles, and D.F. Markle. 1996. Recentcollections of continental exotic aquarium fishes in Oregon and thermal tolerance of Misgurnus anguillicaudatusand Piaractus brachypomus . California Fish and Game 82(2): 66-80. MacCrimmon, H.R., and W.H. Robbins. 1975. Distribu tion of black basses in North America. 56-66 in R.H. Stroud, and H. Clepper, eds. Black bass biology and management. Sport Fishing Institute, Washington, D.C. Maciolek, J. A. 1984. Exotic fishes in Ha waii and other islands of Oceania. 131-161 in W. R. Courtenay, Jr., and J. R. Stauffer, Jr., editors. Distribution, biology, and management of exotic fishes. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. Mallard, B. 2003. Invasive species: Life after Sebago. Kennebec Journal. August 27. Matern, S.A., P.B. Moyle, and L.C. Pierce. 2002. Na tive and alien fishes in a California estuarine marsh: twenty-one years of changing assemblages. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 131: 797-816. Menhinick, E.F. 1991. The freshwater fishes of No rth Carolina. North Caroli na Wildlife Resources Commission, Raleigh, NC. Miller, R.R. and C.H. Lowe. 1967. Part 2. Fishes of Arizona. 133-151 in C.H. Lowe, ed. The vertebrates of Arizona. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ. Miller, R.R., and E.P. Pister. 1971. Management of the Owens pupfish, Cyprinodon radiosus , in Mono County, California. Transactions of the Am erican Fisheries Society 100(3):502-509. Minckley, W. L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Fish and Game Department . Sims Printing Company, Inc., Phoenix, AZ. Moyle, P.B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Page, L.M., and B.M. Burr. 2011. Field guide to fres hwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Peterson Field Guides series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, MA. Pritchard, D.L., O.D. May, Jr., and L. Rider. 1976. Stocking of predators in the predator-stockingevaluation reservoirs. Proceedings of the 30th Annua l Conference of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissio ners 30(1976):108-113. Rasmussen, J.L. 1998. Aquatic nuisance species of the Mississippi River basin. 60th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Aquatic Nuisance Specie s Symposium, Dec. 7, 1998, Cincinnati, OH. Ray, J.W., M. Husemann, R.S. King, and P.D. Da nely. 2012. Genetic analyses reveal dispersal of 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

6 of 8 4/20/2016 4:14 PMFlorida bass haplotypes from rese rvoirs to rivers in central Texas. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 141(5):1269-1273. Red River Authority of Texas. 2001. Red and Canadi an Basins Fish Inventory: Grayson County. Red River Authority of Texas. Red River Authority of Texas. 2001. Red and Cana dian Basins Fish Inventory: Cottle County. Red River Authority of Texas. Red River Authority of Texas. 2001. Red and Canadi an Basins Fish Inventory: Red River County. Red River Authority of Texas. Renken, T. 2002. Fishermen can lapse into mistak es that are harmful to environment. St. Louis Today. November 11, 2002. Rosen, P.C., C.R. Schwalbe, D.A. Parizek, Jr., P. A. Holm, and C.H. Lowe. 1995. Introduced aquatic vertebrates in the Chiricahua region: effects on declining native ranid frogs. 251-261 in Biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago: the s ky island of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-GTR-264. Scarola, J.F. 1973. Freshwater fishes of New Ha mpshire. New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Division of Inland and Marine Fisheries. Schmidt, R.E. 1986. Zoogeography of the northern Ap palachians. 137-160 in C.H. Hocutt and E.O. Wiley, eds. The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY. Shapovalov, L., A.J. Cordone, and W.A. Dill. 1981 . A list of freshwater and anadromous fishes of California. California Fish and Game 67(1): 4-38. Shebley, W.H. 1917. History of intr oduction of food and game fishesinto the watersof California. California Fish and Game 3:3-12. Sigler, W.F. and R.R. Miller. 1963. Fishes of Utah. Utah Department of Fish and Game, Salt Lake City, UT. Smith, C.L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY. Smith, H.M. 1896. A review of th e history and results of the attemp ts to acclimatize fish and other water animals in the Pacific states. Bulletin of the U.S. Fish Commission 15:379-472. Sommer, T, B. Harrell, M. Nobriga, R. Brown, P. Moyle, W. Kimmerer, and L. Schemel. 2001. California's Yolo Bypass: Evidence that flood control can be compat ible with fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, and agriculture. Fisheries. Am erican Fisheries Society. 26 (8): 6-16. Starnes, W.C., J. Odenkirk, and M.J. Ashton. 2011. Update and analysis of fish occurrences in the lower Potomac River drainage in th e vicinity of Plummers Island, Maryland—Contribution XXXI to the natural history of Plummers Island, Maryland. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 124(4):280-309. State of Oregon. 2000. Warm Wa ter Game Fish Records. 7 pp. Stauffer, J.R., Jr., J.M. Boltz, and L.R. White. 1995 . The fishes of West Virginia. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 146:1-389. Sublette, J.E., M.D. Hatch, and M. Sublette. 1990. The fishes of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 1993. State Record Listing. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, May 21, 1993: 19-21. 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

7 of 8 4/20/2016 4:14 PMTilmant, J.T. 1999. Management of nonindigenous aquatic fish in the U.S. National Park System. National Park Service. 50 pp. Tyus, H.M., B.D. Burdick, R.A. Vald ez, C.M. Haynes, T.A. Lytle, and C.R. Berry. 1982. Fishes of the upper Colorado River basin: distri bution, abundance, and status. 12-70 in W.H. Miller, H.M. Tyus, and C.A. Carlson, eds. Fishes of the upper Colorado River system: present and future. Western Division, American Fisheries Society. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1985. Recove ry plan for the Pahranagat roundtail chub, Gila robusta jordani . U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1994. White River spinedace, Lepidomeda albivallis , recovery plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. Whitmore, D.H. and T.R. Hellier. 1988. Natural hybridization between largemouth and smallmouth bass (Micropterus). Co peia 1988(2):493-396. Whittier, T.R., D.B. Halliwell and R.A. Daniels. 2000. Distributions of lake fishes in the Northeast - II. The minnows (Cyprinidae). Northeaste rn Naturalist. 7(2): 3- 131-156. Whitworth, W. R., P. L. Berrien, and W. T. Kell er. 1968. Freshwater fishes of Connecticut. State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut, Bulletin 101. Whitworth, W.R. 1996. Freshwater fishes of Conne cticut. State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut, Bulletin 114. Other Resources: Distribution in Illinois - ILNHS Micropterus salmoides(Global Invasive Species Database)
Author: Pam Fuller and Matt Neilson

Revision Date: 7/23/2015

Citation Information: Pam Fuller and Matt Neilson. 2016. Micropterus salmoides . USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx ?speciesID=401 Revision Date: 7/23/2015 This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. Th e information has not received fina l approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.

U.S. Department of the Interi or | U.S. Geological Survey URL: http://nas.er.usgs.gov Page Contact Information: Pam Full er - NAS Program (pfuller@usgs.gov) Page Last Modified: Friday, January 08, 2016 

### Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) - FactSheet http://nas.er.usgs.g ov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=401

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