Family: MORONIDAE, Temperate Bass, Temperate Basses
preopercle finely serrated
small cónical teeth: jaws, roof of mouth, 2 rows on tongue
FAMILY MORONIDAE
TEMPERATE BASSES
Body oblong, slightly compressed; mouth large, top jawbone wide at rear and mostly exposed when mouth is closed; jaws with bands of small conical teeth, no canines; bands of small simple teeth on sides and front of roof of mouth, and in 2 parallel rows on base of tongue; membranes under gills join well forward; gill rakers 19-29; opercle with 2 flat points; preopercle rounded, finely serrated; dorsal fin notched to its base between spiny and soft parts, VIII-IV + I, 10-13; tail fin forked, heavily scaled on its base; anal fin III, 9-12, its origin well behind origin of soft dorsal fin; head and body covered with small, rough scales; lateral line continuous, with 50-72 pores.
An Atlantic family with 2 genera and 6 species, all 4 of 1 genus in the NW Atlantic, with 3 primarily freshwater species and 1 species migrating between fresh and saltwater in our area.
PREPARED BY D ROSS ROBERTSON, AFTER HEEMSTRA (2002)
