Black Bass Diversity: Multidisciplinary Science for Conservation

Redeye Bass Micropterus coosae Hubbs & Bailey, 1940

Jean K. Leitner and Laurie A. Earley

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874400.ch7

Redeye Bass Micropterus coosae was described by Hubbs and Bailey (1940) from a specimen taken from Fisher Creek in Etowah County, Alabama. Recent work has delineated multiple species from within its native range. Baker et al. (2013) described four new species from the Gulf slope basins, all formerly considered M. coosae (Cahaba Bass M. cahabae, Tallapoosa Bass M. tallapoosae, Warrior Bass M. warriorensis, and Chattahoochee Bass M. chattahoochae). Genetic survey and taxonomic studies support similar distinction for Savannah and Altamaha River populations of the Atlantic slope (Oswald 2007; Straight et al. 2009; Freeman et al. 2015, this volume). For the purposes of this profile, the common name Redeye Bass refers to the complex of species that occupies the original range of M. coosae, as described below. Where possible, information presented is noted as referring to a species within a specific drainage.

The native range of Redeye Bass, as originally described, is restricted to areas of Alabama, Georgia, western South Carolina, and small portions of North Carolina and Tennessee. Specifically, the range is composed of upland streams and rivers of the Savannah and Altamaha River basins of the Atlantic slope, and the Chattahoochee, Tallapoosa, Coosa, Cahaba, and Black Warrior River basins of the Gulf slope (Warren et al. 2000; Boschung and Mayden 2004; Rhode et al. 2009). Within this range, the Redeye Bass is generally restricted to areas above the fall line, though young fish have occasionally been collected below (Marcy et al. 2005).