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State Fish Of Virginia

 

State Freshwater Fish of Virginia

Brook Trout Is The Official State Fish Of Virginia. The beautiful brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) was adopted as the official Virginia State Fish in 1993. In 2011 it was reenacted as the official freshwater fish Of Virginia. Brook trout have a long, streamlined body with a large mouth that extends past the eye. Color variations include olive, black above with a silvery-white belly and wormlike markings along the back. State Fish Of Virginia Brook Trout have red spots sometimes surrounded by bluish halos on their sides. The lower fins have a white front edge followed by black and the remainder being reddish-orange. The tail fin is square or slightly forked. During fall breeding time, Virginia State Fish male brook trout will develop a slightly hooked jaw and become very bright orange-red along the lower sides which are highlighted by a black vertical stripe along the belly. Brook Trout can be found alongside rocks, under cover of logs and undercut banks, in cold water, spring-fed streams, rivers, lakes and in the Great Lakes. Larger State Fish Of Virginia brook trout often inhabit deep in stream pools moving to shallow water feed. Spawning generally occurs in the months of October and November. Mature brook trout seek a gravel riffle area in spring-fed streams, seepage areas of ponds, lakeshores with swift currents or groundwater seepages. Female brook trout use their tails to create a spawning bed (or redd). After spawning the female covers the eggs (up to 5,000 per female) with gravel.

 

 

State Saltwater Fish of Virginia

Striped Bass Is The Official State Fish of Virginia. Virginia adopted the striped bass as the official state saltwater fish in 2011. The Virginia State Fish Striped Bass is the largest member of the sea bass family, often called “temperate” or “true” bass to distinguish it from species such as largemouth and spotted bass which is actually members of the sunfish family Centrarchidae. As with other true basses, the dorsal fin is clearly separated into spiny and soft-rayed portions. Striped bass is silvery, shading to olive-green on the back and white on the belly, with seven or eight uninterrupted horizontal stripes on each side of the body. The average length of striped bass is between 20 and 36 inches while the standard weight can be between 30 and 40 pounds. This fish species tend to live for approximately 30 years. Younger fish may resemble white bass. However, striped bass has two distinct tooth patches on the back of the tongue, whereas white bass has one tooth patch. Striped bass has two sharp points on each gill cover, and white bass has one. The largest recorded striped bass in the world, which was reeled in near Atlantic City, New Jersey, weighed 78 pounds, 8 ounces. In South Carolina, the record goes to Terry McConnell who caught a 63 pounder in Lake Russell back in 2009.

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