Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Northern v. Southern Smallmouth?

Has their ever been any documented cases of any separate sub species of smallies like northern or florida largemouth?

not that I am aware of, but I am far from well informed...perhaps the spotted bass?

I have the same answer as Rex. I've caught them from Winnipeg and Kenora, down to South Carolina. I never examined them biologically. The only thing I really every noticed was that, at least in my brain, the mid Atlantic smallies seemed that have a higher relative weight than those further south and north. But coloration and maximum length sure seemed the same in good fisheries.

Not in the literature. If there is a distinction it is not North- South but rather river fish vs. lake fish.

The basses have been studied by a few taxonomically minded fish squeezers. A couple articles exist. One good general discussion of SMB in general is Smallmouth Bass by Daniel Coble in Black Bass Biology and Management 1975. Sportfishing Institute. In it he mentions two subspecies of smallmouth have been recognized, northern SMB Micropterus d.dolomieui and the Neosho smallmouth, Micropterus d. velox (Hubbs & Bailey 1940, A revision of the black basses (Micropterus and Huro) with description of four new forms. Univ, Mich. Museum Zoology Misc. Publ, No.48, 51pp.). They concluded the subspecies differed in body shape, morphological characters, growth rate, efficiency of food utilization and vulnerability to angling.

I saw nothing mentioned about a subspecies of SMB in The First International Smallmouth Bass Symposium - D.C.Jackson ed. 1991.

http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/topic/1245-strains-of-smallmouth-bass/

http://forum.nanfa.org/index.php/topic/5973-neosho-smallmouth/
- from NANFA link above:
"A similar situation exists for the Neosho Smallmouth Bass, Micropterus dolomieu velox Hubbs and Bailey. This subspecies was described based primarily on slight differences in counts of the second dorsal fin rays, pigmentation patterns, and dentition on the tongue (Hubbs and Bailey, 1940). The validity of M. d. velox was subsequently dismissed on the basis of slight morphological differences and clinal gradation into the nominal M. dolomieu (Bailey, 1956; Gilbert, 1998), a conclusion supported by more recent analyses of nuclear gene encoded allozymes and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data (Stark and Echelle, 1998; Kassler, et al., 2002)."

http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/hetke_dust/classification.htm

To add to Bill's comments here is the text out of Kassler, et al., 2002 - Black Bass Symposium.

"Although M. dolomeiu from several locations were analyzed , samples were collected from only one locality within the historical range of M.d. velox. Because preliminary analyses did not reveal differences between the two geographic sources , the status of Neosho smallmouth bass M. d.velox remains to be explored. Stark and Echelle (1998), using allozymes , found evidence for three different clads of M. dolomieu inhabiting the interior highlands of Missouri , Arkansas, and Oklahoma in an area known as the Ozark and Ouachita uplands. Further analysis including these populations and using multiple molecular techniques needs to be completed before a revision of taxonomy of M. dolomieu can be considered complete."

So it is still somewhat up in the air but the best current evidence is that there is only one species of SMB as evidenced by Gilbert, 1998 . However the comment in NANFA above quoted by Bill " a conclusion supported by more recent analyses of nuclear gene encoded allozymes and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data (Stark and Echelle, 1998; Kassler, et al., 2002)" is weak at best based on a reading of Kassler et al 2002.

If there is a subspecies, they are in Sunil's pond in Southwestern PA. His smallmouth resemble other smallmouth in color and general characteristics. But, his SMB need a Relative Weight chart of their own. His smallmouth are nearly as round as Condello Strain Bluegill.

I thought I had some pictures I could post. Unfortunately, if I do have some, I can't find them. Maybe somebody else has some they could post. Sunil also has yellow perch and brown bullheads that need their own relative weight charts.