Smallmouth bass

Smallmouth bass
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Centrarchidae
Genus:	Micropterus
Species:	M. dolomieu
Binomial name
Micropterus dolomieu Lacépède, 1802
Synonyms[3]
Bodianus achigan Rafinesque, 1817 Cichla fasciata Lesueur, 1822 Centrarchus fasciatus (Lesueur, 1822) Cichla minima Lesueur, 1822

The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Perciformes.^[4] It is the type species of its genus Micropterus (black basses), and is a popular game fish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stocking—as well as illegal introductions—to many cool-water tributaries and lakes in Canada and more so introduced in the United States.^[5] The maximum recorded size is approximately 27 inches (69 cm) and 12 pounds (5.4 kg).

The smallmouth bass is native to the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Saint Lawrence River–Great Lakes system, the Champlain Valley, and the Hudson Bay basin.^[6] Its common names include smallmouth, bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, and bareback bass.