Alabama Bass: Facts & Habitat

About Alabama Bass

Micropterus henshalli, the Alabama bass, is a medium-sized freshwater ray finned fish, a black bass from the genus Micropterus which is part of the sunfish family Centrarchidae. This species is endemic to the southeastern United States where it is native to the rivers which drain into Mobile Bay in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia where they are found in pools in rivers which have a good flow and in impoundments. They have been introduced elsewhere in the United States; the hybridization of this species with the redeye bass after Alabama bass were introduced into Keowee Reservoir in South Carolina is thought to have been the cause in the decline in the population of redeye bass. Micropterus henshalli was first formally described as a subspecies of the spotted bass (M. punctulatus) by Carl Leavitt Hubbs and Reeve Maclaren Bailey in 1940 with the type locality given as Jefferson County, Alabama. The specific name honors James A. Henshall who was a bass angler.

Native and introducedFresh11 states

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Alabama bass (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Native range

Mobile Bay basin in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia (Page and Burr 2011).

Habitat and ecology

Flowing pools of small to medium rivers and also impoundments (Page and Burr 2011).

Ecological impacts

A population of M. henshalli introduced into Keowee Reservoir, South Carolina, has been documented hybridizing with native Redeye Bass (M. coosae). This hybridization and subsequent introgression is probably the reason for the decline of Redeye Bass population in Keowee Reservoir (Barwick et al. 2006).

Record fish

The Texas state record

Texas5.01 lb
Alan Henry · Dec 19, 2009 · Danny Pool · plastic worm

Each figure is the state agency’s own certified record. The site holds record tables for 11 states so far, so a state missing here has not been read yet. It is not a state where this fish holds no record.

Range

Where it lives

52.8%of mapped records

Share of 1,135 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 11 states.

Share of records by state

Habitat

Water and movement

Water: WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
USGS NAS habitat: Freshwater
US status: Native transplant — native to part of the United States, moved to other waters inside it.

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Actinopterygii
Class: Teleostei
Order: Perciformes
Family: Centrarchidae
Genus: Micropterus
Species: Micropterus henshalli
ITIS TSN: 1159345
WoRMS AphiaID: 1525239
GBIF key: 7193243

Common questions about Alabama Bass

What is the scientific name of Alabama Bass?

The scientific name is Micropterus henshalli, in the family Centrarchidae. Classification follows ITIS.

Does Alabama Bass live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Alabama Bass been recorded in the United States?

GBIF has observations in 11 states, with the most records in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives