smallmouth bass

Open encyclopedia reference

The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Centrarchiformes. 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. 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. Its common names include smallmouth, bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, and bareback bass.

Wikipedia contributors, Smallmouth bass; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:09:32.906450+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Micropterus dolomieu Lacepède, 1802

Name authority

Lacepède, 1802

Common name

smallmouth bass

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Centrarchiformes

Family

Centrarchidae

Genus

Micropterus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderCentrarchiformes
11. familyCentrarchidae Bleeker, 1859
12. genusMicropterus Lacepède, 1802
13. speciesMicropterus dolomieu Lacepède, 1802

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Micropterus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 38 records assigned to Centrarchidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Lacepède, B. G. E. (1802). Histoire naturelle des poissons: IV. Chez Plassan: Paris, France, v. 4: i–xliv + 1–728, Pl. 1–16. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:43539. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.