Animalia Life

Ambloplites rupestris
FAMILY
Centrarchidae
TAXONOMY
Ambloplites rupestris Rafinesque, 1817, Lakes of New York, Vermont, United States. No subspecies are recognized.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Goggle eye, northern rock bass, redeye; French: Crapet de roche; German: Gemeiner felsenbarsch, gemeiner sonnenbarsch.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Maximum total length 17 in (43.2 cm), typically little more than one-half that. Large-mouthed, red-eyed fish with rows of small, chocolate-colored squares along the sides of its greenish to brownish body.
DISTRIBUTION
North America from the Mississippi Valley almost to the Atlantic coast, and Lake Winnipeg to Missouri and the northern boundaries of Georgia and Alabama. Also widely introduced worldwide.
HABITAT
Heavily vegetated areas of freshwater lakes and ponds, as well as clear, rocky streams.
BEHAVIOR
Schools in winter, becomes solitary when breeding season commences in the spring.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds on aquatic plants, invertebrates, and fishes, occasionally conspecifics.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Spawns in late spring and early summer over male-constructed and guarded nests. The demersal, adhesive eggs hatch in three to four days. The male continues to protect the young as long as they remain in the nest area. Once they scatter, usually within a few days, protection ceases. They reach sexual maturity at three to five years.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Minor sport and commercial fishes.

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