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Ambloplites rupestris

(Rafinesque, 1817)

Rock Bass

G5Secure Found in 21 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105635
Element CodeAFCQB06040
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCentrarchiformes
FamilyCentrarchidae
GenusAmbloplites
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Ambloplites cavifrons and A. ariommus formerly were included in this species.

Roe et al. (2008) noted that morphological, mitochondrial, and allozyme characters do not allow discrimination between A. rupestris and A. ariommus within the Interior Highlands; this may indicate that A. ariommus never occurred west of the Mississippi River, or it could indicate that if A. ariommus occurred in these drainages, it has now become introgressed with A. rupestris (Roe et al. 2008).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2015-08-17
Change Date1996-09-23
Edition Date2011-12-27
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent200,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 80,000 to >1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Large range in streams and lakes in eastern and central North America; common; no major threats.
Range Extent Comments
Native range encompasses St. Lawrence-Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins, including most of the northeastern United States and adjacent southern Canada; south to Missouri, northern Alabama, and northern Georgia, west to Saskatchewan and the eastern Dakotas. Introduced in many places on Atlantic slope south to Roanoke River, Virginia, and west of native range in Missouri, Arkansas, northeastern Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas, and some western states (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 2011). This species is non-native in South Carolina, but has been established in three locations in Oconee County.
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a very large number of occurrences (subpopulations).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat includes pools and brushy margins in creeks and small to medium rivers (Page and Burr 2011). This bass prefers small, cool, weedy lakes or littoral regions of larger lakes, and streams with typically rocky, always silt-free substrates, permanent flow, low turbidity, and extensive cover (Lee et al. 1980). Spawning occurs in shallow water in shallow depressions made by males in areas as diverse as swamps and gravel shoals; nests may be close together (Scott and Crossman 1973).

Ecology

Adults often aggregate.

Reproduction

Spawns in late spring and early summer; eggs hatch in 3-4 days at 20-21 C; sexually mature at age II-IV (Becker 1983, Scott and Crossman 1973).
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLAND
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS5Yes
SaskatchewanS2Yes
ManitobaS5Yes
QuebecS5Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
WashingtonSNANo
NebraskaSNANo
OhioS5Yes
DelawareSNANo
South DakotaS5Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
WyomingSNANo
AlabamaS4Yes
MarylandS5Yes
MichiganS5Yes
GeorgiaS3Yes
New HampshireSNANo
ArkansasSNRYes
MississippiS2Yes
District of ColumbiaSNANo
VermontS5Yes
North CarolinaS4Yes
New JerseySNANo
WisconsinS5Yes
TexasSNANo
TennesseeS5Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
KansasSNANo
IndianaS5Yes
South CarolinaSNANo
New MexicoSNANo
ArizonaSNANo
New YorkS5Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNANo
MissouriSNRYes
IllinoisS3Yes
MassachusettsSNANo
MontanaSNANo
North DakotaSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
KentuckyS4Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
ConnecticutSNANo
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (21)
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
Minnesota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Wood LakeSuperior National Forest596
North Carolina (4)
AreaForestAcres
Balsam ConePisgah National Forest10,591
BearwallowPisgah National Forest4,113
Jarrett CreekPisgah National Forest7,485
Slide HollowPisgah National Forest193
South Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Red ShirtBuffalo Gap National Grassland17,007
Tennessee (2)
AreaForestAcres
Sampson Mountain AdditionCherokee National Forest3,064
Slide HollowCherokee National Forest4,057
Vermont (1)
AreaForestAcres
Griffith Lake 09084Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,833
Virginia (7)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekJefferson National Forest18,274
Broad RunJefferson National Forest10,971
Brush Mountain EastJefferson National Forest4,916
Little AlleghanyGeorge Washington National Forest10,215
North MountainJefferson National Forest8,377
Northern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest9,444
Peters Mountain Addition BJefferson National Forest2,909
West Virginia (4)
AreaForestAcres
Dolly Sods Roaring PlainMonongahela National Forest13,392
Little Allegheny MountainMonongahela National Forest10,514
Little MountainMonongahela National Forest8,172
Middle MountainMonongahela National Forest19,020
References (36)
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