Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 7.0 - 7.5; dH range: 10 - 15. Subtropical; 18°C - 32°C (Ref. 12741); 50°N - 26°N
North America: Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and Mississippi River basins from New York in USA and from Ontario in Canada to Minnesota and south Dakota, USA, and south to the Gulf of Mexico; from Escambia River in Florida, and Mobile Bay in Georgia and Alabama to Rio Grande in Texas, USA. Also northern Mexico.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 31.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5723); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. published weight: 960.00 g (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 72492)
Adults inhabit quiet pools and backwaters of sluggish streams, lakes and ponds. Often near vegetation (Ref. 5723, 10294). Juveniles feed on immature insects and microcrustaceans (Ref. 10294). Nest spawners (Ref. 79012).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p. (Ref. 5723)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 126983)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
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