Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis

Striped Bass

Status

Physical 

Striped Bass vary in color from light or olive green, to blue, silver, or brown.Their metallic bodies have black stripes that run along horizontally. They have a forked tail fin and their dorsal fin has spines. At maturity, individuals average 2 to 3 feet in length and weigh 10 to 30 pounds, although they can measure up to 6 feet and weigh up to 125 pounds.

Habitat

M. saxatilis range from the St. Lawrence Seaway to Florida, and west to Louisiana. They are also prevalent in the open ocean zone of the Atlantic. Individuals also range in coastal waters where they prefer estuaries.

Feeding 

Juveniles feed primarily on small crustaceans and cladocerans. Adults are piscivorous, and eat any smaller fish than themselves.

Striped Bass
Image by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region on Flickr