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Although perch is the common name for several distantly related species of fish, it properly refers to members of the perch family (Percidae), order Perciformes, class Actinoperygii. Worldwide, 241 species of perch exist. In Canada, 16 species of perch occur, including the yellow perch, the walleye and sauger, 12 darters (genera Ammocrypta, Etheostoma, Percina) and an introduced species from Europe, the ruffe.
Description
Perch are small- to medium-sized, carnivorous, bottom-dwelling, freshwater fishes usually with long, rounded, laterally compressed bodies and two dorsal fins. The swim bladder is usually reduced or absent; eyes are conspicuous; dorsal, anal and pelvic fins are spined. Darters, specifically, are very small fish, few being longer than 8 cm.
Habitat and Distribution
In North America, true perch were confined, originally, to the area east of the Rocky Mountains, but some species have been introduced to the West. No species are native west of the Rocky Mountains.
Darters, for their part, are most common in Ontario.
