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The Nonindigenous Occurrences section of the NAS species profiles has a new structure. The section is now dynamically updated from the NAS database to ensure that it contains the most current and accurate information. Occurrences are summarized in Table 1, alphabetically by state, with years of earliest and most recent observations, and the tally and names of drainages where the species was observed. The table contains hyperlinks to collections tables of specimens based on the states, years, and drainages selected. References to specimens that were not obtained through sighting reports and personal communications are found through the hyperlink in the Table 1 caption or through the individual specimens linked in the collections tables.




Morone chrysops × saxatilis
Morone chrysops × saxatilis
(wiper)
Fishes
Native Hybrid

Copyright Info
Morone chrysops × saxatilis

Common name: wiper

Synonyms and Other Names: sunshine bass, palmetto bass, whiterock

Taxonomy: available through www.itis.govITIS logo

Identification: Identifying features are provided in Ware (1975), Kerby (1979), Williams (1976), Etnier and Starnes (1993), and Mettee et al. (1996).

Size: 10.97 kg (record size).

Native Range: None; artificial hybrid.

Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) Explained
Interactive maps: Point Distribution Maps

Nonindigenous Occurrences:

Table 1. States with nonindigenous occurrences, the earliest and latest observations in each state, and the tally and names of HUCs with observations†. Names and dates are hyperlinked to their relevant specimen records. The list of references for all nonindigenous occurrences of Morone chrysops × saxatilis are found here.

StateFirst ObservedLast ObservedTotal HUCs with observations†HUCs with observations†
AL1989199622Black Warrior-Tombigbee; Cahaba; Lower Alabama; Lower Black Warrior; Lower Chattahoochee; Lower Choctawhatchee; Lower Conecuh; Lower Coosa; Lower Elk; Lower Tallapoosa; Lower Tombigbee; Middle Alabama; Middle Chattahoochee-Lake Harding; Middle Coosa; Middle Tallapoosa; Middle Tombigbee-Lubbub; Mobile-Tensaw; Mulberry; Upper Alabama; Upper Black Warrior; Upper Tallapoosa; Wheeler Lake
AR197519928Beaver Reservoir; Little Missouri; Little Red; Lower Arkansas-Maumelle; Lower Little Arkansas, Oklahoma; Lower Mississippi-Helena; North Fork White; Upper Ouachita
CA198319923San Gabriel; Santa Ana; Upper Kaweah
CO1992200914Beaver; Big Thompson; Cache La Poudre; Fountain; Huerfano; Middle South Platte-Cherry Creek; Middle South Platte-Sterling; Purgatoire; Republican; South Platte; St. Vrain; Upper Arkansas; Upper Arkansas-John Martin Reservoir; Upper Arkansas-Lake Meredith
DE198120073Brandywine-Christina; Broadkill-Smyrna; Chincoteague
FL1975202016Alafia; Apalachicola; Escambia; Florida Southeast Coast; Hillsborough; Kissimmee; Lower Chattahoochee; Lower Choctawhatchee; Lower St. Johns; Manatee; Oklawaha; Peace; Santa Fe; St. Marys; Upper St. Johns; Withlacoochee
GA197119977Etowah; Little; Lower Flint; Lower Savannah; Middle Savannah; Tugaloo; Upper Savannah
IL1993202222Big Muddy; Cahokia-Joachim; Des Plaines; La Moine; Little Wabash; Lower Fox; Lower Illinois; Lower Illinois-Lake Chautauqua; Lower Kaskaskia; Lower Ohio; Lower Sangamon; Mackinaw; Macoupin; Middle Kaskaskia; Peruque-Piasa; Saline; Salt; Shoal; Skillet; Spoon; Upper Illinois; Upper Sangamon
IN198320133Lower East Fork White; Silver-Little Kentucky; Tippecanoe
IA198120053Apple-Plum; Copperas-Duck; Middle Des Moines
KS1995199712Lower Marais Des Cygnes; Lower Republican; Lower Walnut River; Middle Kansas; Middle Republican; North Fork Ninnescah; Prairie Dog; Upper Cottonwood; Upper Marais Des Cygnes; Upper Neosho; Upper Smoky Hill; Upper South Fork Solomon
KY199520132Barren; Rough
LA199720191Lower Ouachita-Bayou De Loutre
MD198119984Gunpowder-Patapsco; Middle Potomac-Catoctin; Potomac; Upper Chesapeake
MI199619962Black-Macatawa; Kalamazoo
MN197919791Rush-Vermillion
MS199720032Upper Tombigbee; Upper Yazoo
MO198420023Lake of the Ozarks; South Grand; Upper Mississippi-Cape Girardeau
NE1987201312Calamus; Frenchman; Harlan County Reservoir; Lower North Platte; Lower Platte; Lower Platte-Shell; Lower South Platte; Medicine; Middle Platte-Buffalo; Red Willow; Salt; Upper Republican
NV199420202Lower Humboldt; Middle Carson
NJ199119911Middle Delaware-Musconetcong
NM199019901Upper Pecos-Black
NY199719982Chenango; Owego-Wappasening
NC1991202415Deep; Haw; Lower Cape Fear; Lower Dan; Lower Yadkin; Northeast Cape Fear; Pamlico; Rocky; Seneca; Upper Broad; Upper Cape Fear; Upper Catawba; Upper Pee Dee; Upper Tar; Upper Yadkin
OH199219975Licking; Little Miami; Little Muskingum-Middle Island; Mahoning; Upper Ohio-Beaver
OK198820203Bird; Black Bear-Red Rock; Illinois
OR198820013Coos; Pacific Northwest Region; Summer Lake
PA199019982Conococheague-Opequon; Middle Delaware-Musconetcong
SC197119915Lower Savannah; Middle Savannah; Seneca; Tugaloo; Upper Savannah
SD199419941Missouri Region
TN197520136Holston; Middle Tennessee-Chickamauga; Stones; Upper Clinch, Tennessee, Virginia; Watauga, North Carolina, Tennessee; Watts Bar Lake
TX1972202065Amistad Reservoir; Austin-Travis Lakes; Bois D'arc-Island; Bosque; Buchanan-Lyndon B. Johnson Lakes; Caddo Lake; Cedar; Chambers; Concho; Denton; East Fork Trinity; Elm Fork Trinity; Farmers-Mud; Hubbard; Jim Ned; Lake O'the Pines; Lake Texoma; Lampasas; Leon; Lower Angelina; Lower Brazos; Lower Brazos; Lower Colorado-Cummins; Lower Guadalupe; Lower Neches; Lower Nueces; Lower Pecos-Red Bluff Reservoir; Lower Sulpher; Lower Trinity-Kickapoo; Lower Trinity-Tehuacana; Lower West Fork Trinity; Medina; Middle Brazos-Lake Whitney; Middle Brazos-Millers; Middle Brazos-Palo Pinto; Middle Canadian-Trujillo; Middle Colorado; Middle Colorado-Elm; Middle Neches; Middle Sabine; North Concho; North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos; Paint; Reagan-Sanderson; Richland; Sabine; San Ambrosia-Santa Isabel; San Gabriel; South Concho; Toledo Bend Reservoir; Tule; Upper Angelina; Upper Clear Fork Brazos; Upper Guadalupe; Upper Neches; Upper North Fork Red; Upper Prairie Dog Town Fork Red; Upper Sabine; Upper San Antonio; Upper West Fork Trinity; West Fork San Jacinto; West Nueces; White; Wichita; Yegua
UT199520214Duchesne; Lower Weber; San Pitch; Utah Lake
VA197920123Lower Rappahannock; Upper New; Upper Roanoke
WV1995202311Little Kanawha; Little Muskingum-Middle Island; Middle New; Raccoon-Symmes; Twelvepole; Upper Guyandotte; Upper Kanawha; Upper Monongahela; Upper Ohio; Upper Ohio-Shade; Upper Ohio-Wheeling
WI199419941Lower Wisconsin

Table last updated 12/10/2024

† Populations may not be currently present.


Means of Introduction: Populations maintained through stocking programs. Alabama has stocked more than 18 million palmetto bass since 1974 (Mettee et al. 1996).

Status: Populations maintained through stocking programs.

Impact of Introduction: In the Savannah River, backcrossing to striped bass was observed (Avise and Van den Arvyle 1984). These hybrids also occasionally back cross with white bass (Avise and Van den Arvyle 1984; Etnier and Starnes 1993). The potential outcome of such mating includes loss of genetic integrity of the parent species or even the loss of a native species, subspecies, or of a unique population (Campton 1987). Sunshine bass apparently are backcrossing to parentals in the Ohio River, where this hybrid is very common (Burr, personal communication).

Remarks: The whiterock (wiper) is the result of crossing a female striped bass with a male white bass, and was first cultured in 1965. The sunshine bass, first produced in 1973, is the result of the reverse cross (Ware 1975; Kerby 1979). Most introductions are of the whiterock hybrid; however, a few sites have been stocked with sunshine bass, including some lakes in Florida (Ware 1975). These hybrids reportedly grow faster, survive better, and are caught more readily than striped bass (Ware 1975). However, they don't attain as large a size as do striped bass (Gilbert, personal communication). These hybrids occur naturally in Arkansas (Etnier and Starnes 1993). Law enforcement officers and fishermen have significant trouble distigushing the hybrid from the Striped and White basses. In an effort to solve this problem, Williams (1976) measured numerous specimens from South Carolina reservoirs and determined helpful distinguishing characteristics. He found that the number of patches of teeth on the tongue, ratio of fork length to body depth, and the ratio of body depth to head length can be used to distinguish the 3 species. The previous use of the "broken line syndrome" is not a reliable method of identification.

References: (click for full references)

Avise, J.C. and M.J. Van den Avyle. 1984. Genetic analysis of reproduction of hybrid white bass x striped bass in the Savannah River. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 113(5):563-570.

Campton, D.E. 1987. Natural hybridization and introgression in fishes: methods of detection and genetic interpretion. Pages 161-192 in Ryman, N., and F. Utter, eds. Population genetics and fishery management. Washington Sea Grant and University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA.

Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The Fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN.

Kerby, J.H. 1979. Meristic characters of two Morone hybrids. Copeia 1979(3):513-518.

Mettee, M.F., P.E. O'Neil, and J.M. Pierson. 1996. Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin. Oxmoor House, Inc, Birmingham, AL.

Ware, F.J. 1975. Progress with Morone Hybrids in Fresh Water. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of SE Assoc. of Game and Fish Commissioners. Nov. 17-20, 1974. 48-54.

Williams, H.M. 1976. Characteristics for Distinguishing White Bass, Striped Bass, and Thier Hybrid (Striped Bass x White Bass). Proceedings of the 29th Annual Conference SE Assoc. of Game and Fish Commissioners.  October 12-15, 1975. 168-172.

Other Resources:
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=779 - Fact Sheet for Morone chrysops - USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=787 - Fact Sheet for Morone saxatilis - USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database


Author: Fuller, P.

Revision Date: 5/31/2019

Peer Review Date: 9/16/2011

Citation Information:
Fuller, P., 2024, Morone chrysops × saxatilis: U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL, https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=784, Revision Date: 5/31/2019, Peer Review Date: 9/16/2011, Access Date: 12/10/2024

This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.

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The data represented on this site vary in accuracy, scale, completeness, extent of coverage and origin. It is the user's responsibility to use these data consistent with their intended purpose and within stated limitations. We highly recommend reviewing metadata files prior to interpreting these data.

Citation information: U.S. Geological Survey. [2024]. Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. Gainesville, Florida. Accessed [12/10/2024].

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