Scientists Identify A New Species Of Bass

A new species of bass called the Choctaw bass apparently endemic to the western Florida panhandle and Alabama has been identified.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for years biologists and anglers have worked with the bass without realizing that the fish is not a spotted bass.

In fact, had it not been for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) genetic study involving other basses of the genus Micropterus, the fish species may have gone undisclosed for years to come.

As it happened, FWRI scientists first encountered a DNA profile that did not belong to any known bass species while testing specimens from northwest Florida’s Chipola River in 2007. Upon realizing this, the researchers began testing archived bass tissues collected from nearby rivers.

By 2009, scientists were able to identify the same genetic profile in bass populations living in several other rivers and, after reinterpreting work done in 1940 by taxonomists, developed the hypothesis that this new bass was also found in southwest Alabama and southeast Mississippi.

Starting in 2012, the researchers set about proving this, which they were ultimately succesful in doing through genetic and morphological evidence.

The name for the bass originates in its geographic connection to the indigenous range of the Native American Choctaw tribe.

Its distinguishing features include its number of scales, fin rays and gill rakers. However, genetic testing is still required for foolproof identification.

This discovery has, in turn, prompted scientists to ensure the population remains healthy through the implementation of conservation management practices.

Ironically, the biggest conservation threat to the Choctaw bass may be the spotted and Alabama bass. However, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as of late 2012, everywhere the Choctaw bass was found, these other types of bass were not. Scientists are taking this as an encouraging sign as these other bass species are often introduced outside of their native range by anglers hoping to expand fishing opportunities despite the threat such introduction poses to native species.