Ecologists from the University of Georgia have officially documented two new species of black bass, Bartram’s bass and Altamaha bass.
In a recently published study, led by Bud Freeman, a senior public service associate emeritus at the UGA Odum School of Ecology, researchers highlighted the distinct physical and genetic characteristics of the two species, which were previously considered the same as redeye bass.
“That would have been an important specimen,” Freeman said, reflecting on his first encounter with Bartram’s bass in the 1980s.
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Bartram’s bass, known scientifically as Micropterus pucpuggy, was first spotted by Freeman in the 1980s when a couple showed him the fish in their cooler.
Despite Freeman’s immediate recognition of its uniqueness, the couple decided to keep the fish and eat it.
“No, man. We’re taking it home and eating it,” Freeman quoted them saying.
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Bartram’s bass are characterized by light gold coloring with patterned dark brown blotches, a rosy-pink fin, and a mottled belly.
They possess an oval tooth patch in their mouth and carmine-red eyes with a black pupil ringed by a thin gold margin, growing up to 15 inches long.
Altamaha bass, or Micropterus calliurus, have light gold scales with olive margins, darker brown blotches on their sides, and orange on the edges of their fins. They also have a small oval tooth patch in their mouth and red eyes with a thin gold margin around the pupil, growing up to 14 inches long.
The research team documented genetic differences between the species, using bioinformatics techniques to ensure pure specimens were identified, avoiding hybrid specimens.
This involved examining mitochondrial DNA and comparing short DNA fragments in the nuclear genome.
Bartram’s and Altamaha bass are riverine species typically found in pools and runs associated with rocky shoal habitats. However, their habitats have been altered by sedimentation and fragmented by dams, raising concerns about potential hybridization with other Micropterus species.
The study was published in Zootaxa and co-authored by researchers from the Odum School of Ecology, UGA Department of Genetics, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Oxford College of Emory University, and University of North Georgia.
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