centrarchidæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A family of acanthopterygian fishes, typified by the genus Centrarchus, containing the forms known as sunfish, rockbass, and black-bass, all of which are inhabitants of the United States. The Chænobryttus gulosus is abundant in the southern streams, where it is known as the warmouth. They are all fresh-water fishes, with compressed oval body, continuous lateral line con-current with the back, head of moderate size with nostrils normally double and scaly cheeks and gill-covers, the operculum ending in a colored lobe or point, a long dorsal fin usually with 10 spines and 10 rays, and the anal fin opposite the soft part of the dorsal. There are 10 genera and nearly 50 species.