Perch

Perch is the name of a freshwater perciform fish belonging to the genus Perca.

Perch
Yellow perch (Perca flavescens)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Percidae
Subfamily:	Percinae
Genus:	Perca Linnaeus, 1758

Perch have "rough" scales. On the front end of the fish, there are two dorsal fins. The first one is spiny and the second is soft. There is also an anal fin, which is also spiny, and a caudal fin.

Species

There are three living species in this genus:

• Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758 (European perch)
• Perca flavescens Mitchill, 1814 (Yellow perch)
• Perca schrenkii Kessler, 1874 (Balkhash perch)

Habitats

Perch are carnivores, They choose waters where smaller fish, shellfish, and insect larvae are plentiful.

They are found in parts of the United States in freshwater ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers. These fish can be found in fresh water all over the world. They live in the Great Lakes region, in particular Lake Erie.

The fish like bodies of water with vegetation and debris. In the spring when the perch spawns, they use vegetation to hide their eggs from predators.

Related pages

• Percidae
• Perciformes

References

1. "Perca Linnaeus 1758 (perch)" Archived 2022-03-25 at the Wayback Machine.
2. Lydon, Alexander Francis (1879), Perca fluviatilis, retrieved 2022-05-10

Other websites

• Media related to Perca at Wikimedia Commons
• Is perch a good fish to eat? If so, what's the best way to cook it?