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10 Pirate Perch Aphredoderus sayanus (Gilliams, 1824) RANGE: Lower Brazos River basin northward to the Red River basin. HABITAT: Swamps, sloughs, ponds, and lakes, as well as rivers and creeks in pools and backwaters. CHARACTERISTICS: (1) Head large; dark, suborbital bars present. (2) Mouth large and terminal. (3) Lateral line incomplete or absent; 48–59 lateral series scales. (4) Dorsal fin with 2–3 weak spines. (5) Pectoral fins with 1 weak spine. (6) Anal fin with 2–3 weak spines. (7) Anus and urogenital pore positioned just behind isthmus. (8) Caudal fin slightly emarginate. DIMENSIONS: Up to 5.5 in (140 mm). FIN COUNTS: Anal soft fin rays 6; dorsal soft fin rays 9–10; pectoral soft fin rays 12–13; pelvic soft fin rays 7. COLORATION: Head with dark, vertical suborbital bars. Dorsal region olive to black; lateral region light shade of olive to black with flecks of iridescent blue, copper-green, or silver ; ventral region pale yellow. Breeding males have black on head with dorsal region a shade of violet. COMMENTS: As a pirate perch matures, the position of the anus and urogenital pore moves forward until it is situated just behind the isthmus. Studies have found that such a position for the urogenital pore allows for incubation of eggs in the gill chamber ; it has been observed that after the eggs have been laid they travel along a groove into the gill chamber. Researchers believe that the eggs in the gill chamber are a prelude to buccal incubation of eggs. Pirate Perch—Family Aphredoderidae Pirate perch, Aphredoderus sayanus, 3.4 in (86 mm) ...

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