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{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Pirate perch
| image = Aphredoderus sayanus sayanus.jpg
| image2 = Pirate perch.JPG
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref>{{cite IUCN|author=NatureServe|year=2013 |title=''Aphredoderus sayanus'' |page=e.T202607A2746073|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202607A2746073.en|access-date=13 April 2023}}</ref>
| grandparent_authority = [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1846
| parent_authority = [[Charles Alexandre Lesueur|Lesueur]] in [[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]] & [[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1833
| taxon = Aphredoderus sayanus
| authority = ([[Jacob Gilliams|Gilliams]], 1824)
| display_parents = 3
|subdivision=*''Aphredoderus sayanus gibbosus'' <small>LeSueur, 1833</small>
*''Aphredoderus sayanus sayanus'' <small>(Gilliams, 1824)</small>
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
| Scolopsis sayanus | Gilliams, 1824
| Aphredoderus sayanus sayanus | (Gilliams, 1824)
| Aphredoderus gibbosus | [[Charles Alexandre Lesueur|Lesueur]], 1833
| Aphredoderus sayanus gibbosus | Lesueur, 1833
| Sternotremia isolepis | [[Edward William Nelson|Nelson]], 1876
| Aphrodedirus cookianus | [[David Starr Jordan|Jordan]], 1877
| Asternotremia mesotrema | Jordan, 1877
}}
}}

The '''pirate perch''' ('''''Aphredoderus sayanus''''') is a freshwater fish that commonly inhabits coastal waters along the east coast of the [[United States]] and the backwater areas of the [[Mississippi Valley]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Aphredoderus sayanus summary page |url=https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Aphredoderus-sayanus |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=FishBase |language=en}}</ref><ref name=boltz>{{cite journal | last1 = Boltz | first1 = J.M. | last2 = Stauffer Jr | first2 = J.R. | year = 1986 | title = Branchial brooding in the pirate perch, ''Aphredoderus sayanus''(Gilliams) | journal = Copeia | volume = 1986 | issue = 4 | pages = 1030–1031 | doi=10.2307/1445309| jstor = 1445309 }}</ref> This species is often found towards the bottom of clear, warm water habitats with low currents. These fish are normally solitary, carnivorous, and [[nocturnal]]. The pirate perch is known to consume live [[mosquito]] larva, [[amphipods]], [[glass shrimp]], meal worms, small fish, [[dragonfly]] and [[stonefly]] larvae, and earthworms.<ref name=parker>{{cite journal | last1 = Parker | first1 = N.C. | last2 = Simco | first2 = B.A. | year = 1975 | title = Activity patterns, feeding and behavior of the Pirate Perch,''Aphredoderus sayanus'' | journal = Copeia | volume = 1975 | issue = 3 | pages = 572–574 | doi=10.2307/1443661| jstor = 1443661 }}</ref>

The pirate perch is related to the [[trout-perch]]es, but only loosely; it is the [[monotypic|only species]] in its family, '''Aphredoderidae'''. The genus name, ''Aphredoderus'', literally translates to "excrement throat" in Greek, referencing the unusual location of its anus in the throat region.<ref name=":0" /> The specific name ''sayanus'' is a tribute to naturalist [[Thomas Say]].<ref name=becker/> Charles C. Abbott gave the fish its common name after observing it eating only other fishes.<ref name=becker>{{cite book|last1=Becker|first1=George C.|title=Fishes of Wisconsin|date=1983|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison|isbn=0-299-08790-5|page=735|url=http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/EcoNatRes.FishesWI}}</ref>

==Description==
This small fish is up to {{convert|14|cm|in|abbr=on}} in [[fish measurement|total length]].<ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase | genus=Aphredoderus | species=sayanus | month =July | year=2017}}</ref> It is dark brown, sometimes with a darker band near the base of the tail. In young individuals the anus is located between the [[pelvic fin]]s, but migrates forward as the fish grows, before it settles on the throat region.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kIUDBep3kcAC&dq=Pirate+Perch+Anus+migrates+throat+isthmus+adults&pg=PA324 Fishes of Arkansas (p)]</ref>

Pirate perch may be the only known animal to exhibit a chemical [[camouflage]], or [[crypsis]] that is generalized and effective among a wide number of potential prey species.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=William J. |last1=Resetarits Jr. |first2=Christopher A. |last2=Binckley |title=Is the pirate really a ghost? Evidence for generalized chemical camouflage in an aquatic predator, pirate perch ''Aphredoderus sayanus'' |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=181 |issue=5 |year=2013 |pages=690–699 |url=http://www.uvm.edu/rsenr/wfb232/Resetarits%20-%20pirate%20perch%20chemical%20disguise.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210859/http://www.uvm.edu/rsenr/wfb232/Resetarits%20-%20pirate%20perch%20chemical%20disguise.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |doi=10.1086/670016 |pmid=23594551 |s2cid=26747440 |access-date=June 1, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=William J. |last1=Resetarits Jr. |first2=Matthew R. |last2=Pintar |title=Functional diversity of non-lethal effects, chemical camouflage, and variation in fish avoidance in colonizing beetles |journal=Ecology |volume=97 |issue=12 |year=2016 |pages=3517–3529 |doi=10.1002/ecy.1593 |pmid=27912024 |bibcode=2016Ecol...97.3517R |url=http://www.matthewpintar.net/uploads/2/9/8/5/29857083/resetarits___pintar_2016.pdf}}</ref>

==Distribution==

The pirate perch is a freshwater species found in temperate climates where the water temperature generally ranges from {{convert|5|to(-)|26|C|F|abbr=on}}.<ref name=fishbase/> They are found most commonly in central and eastern North America. The pirate perch occurs in rivers of the Atlantic and Gulf slopes, the Mississippi Valley, and scattered parts of the eastern [[Great Lakes]] Basin.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Boltz | first1 = J.M. | last2 = Stauffer Jr | first2 = J.R. | year = 1993 | title = Systematics of Aphredoderus sayanus (Teleostei: Aphredoderidae) | journal = Copeia | volume = 1993 | issue = 1 | pages = 81–98 | doi=10.2307/1446298| jstor = 1446298 }}</ref> The subspecies ''A. s. gibbosus'' occurs west of the [[Eastern Continental Divide]] and in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] basin west of the [[Mississippi River]], while the nominate subspecies occurs along most of the Atlantic coast north of the Florida–Georgia border; intergrades are found from Florida to Mississippi.<ref name=BurrWarren>{{cite book|chapter=Chapter 22, Aphredoderidae: Pirate Perches|last1=Burr|first1=Brooks M.|last2=Warren, Jr.|first2=Melvin L.|title=Freshwater Fishes of North America|pages=322–339|year=2020|editor-last1=Warren, Jr.|editor-first1=M.L.|editor-last2=Burr|editor-first2=B.M.|editor-last3=Echelle|editor-first3=A.A.|editor-last4=Kuhajda|editor-first4=B.R.|editor-last5=Ross|editor-first5=S.T.|others=Illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri|volume=2|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore, Maryland|isbn=978-1-4214-1202-3|chapter-url=https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/61183|access-date=13 April 2023|via=U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service}}</ref>{{rp|323–324}} Pirate perch once occurred in [[Pennsylvania]], in the [[Delaware River]] drainage,<ref name=BurrWarren/>{{rp|323,338}} but have since likely been [[extirpated]], according to the [[Nature Conservancy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100127/Aphredoderus_sayanus|title=''Aphredoderus sayanus''|website=NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer|publisher=NatureServe|location=Arlington, Virginia|author=NatureServe|access-date=13 April 2023|date=7 April 2023}}</ref> The species may also be extirpated in [[Ohio]].<ref name=BurrWarren/>{{rp|338}} Its geographic range is very limited in the United States, and the creation of dams and the increasing effects of urbanization are restricting the overall habitat size for the fish, which could eventually lead to this species becoming extirpated in some areas.

==Ecology==

These fish can be found in densely vegetated areas, places with woody debris, and underneath banks in root masses. Debris in deep water with undercut banks and slow inside flows are used more by this species. The area where the perch reside is dependent on their size, with medium to large perch occupying places that were more structurally complex than small ones. They are known to congregate in these areas to avoid predation from piscivorous birds, otters, or mink.<ref name=fletcher /> The pirate perch has nocturnal feeding habits; their diet consists of live mosquito larva, amphipods, glass shrimp, meal worms, small fish, dragonfly and stonefly larvae, and earthworms.<ref name=parker/>

==Life history==

Breeding occurs from October to December in Florida<ref>McLane, W.M. 1955. The fishes of the St. Johns River system. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida, 361 pp.</ref> and in Louisiana as early as February.<ref name=font/> Most breeding occurs around early April until May, depending on latitude.<ref name=fletcher /> When breeding, pirate perch use underwater root masses as the microhabitat for their larvae. Females have been observed thrusting their heads into sheltered canals of underwater root masses and releasing eggs. The male perch then come to these sites, enter the canal head-first, and proceed to fertilize the eggs in the same manner they were laid.<ref name=fletcher /> Females can lay between 100 and 400 eggs, which is dependent on the body size. They are able to reproduce after one year, and can live up to four years in the wild.<ref>Pflieger, W'. 1975. The Fishes of Missouri. Missouri: Missouri Department of Conservation.</ref>

This species' method of breeding was misunderstood for quite some time due to difficulties in making ''in situ'' observations.<ref name=boltz/> At first, the [[urogenital]] positioning of the pirate perch was speculated to serve to promote egg transfer to the fish's [[gill]] (branchial) chamber for gill-brooding.<ref name=fletcher>{{cite journal | last1 = Fletcher | first1 = D. E. | last2 = Dakin | first2 = E. E. | last3 = Porter | first3 = B. A. | last4 = Avise | first4 = J. C. | year = 2004 | title = Spawning behavior and genetic parentage in the pirate perch (''Aphredoderus sayanus''), a fish with an enigmatic reproductive morphology | journal = Copeia | volume = 2004 | pages = 1–10 | doi=10.1643/ce-03-160r| s2cid = 37827490 }}</ref> However, the pirate perch was found to not brood bronchially; instead, they lay their eggs within underwater root masses which are then fertilized by the males.<ref name=fletcher /><ref name=font>{{cite journal | last1 = Fontenot | first1 = Q. C. | last2 = Rutherford | first2 = D. A. | year = 1999 | title = Observations on the reproductive ecology of pirate perch ''Aphredoderus sayanus'' | journal = Journal of Freshwater Ecology | volume = 14 | issue = 4 | pages = 545–549 | doi=10.1080/02705060.1999.9663712| bibcode = 1999JFEco..14..545F }}</ref> Nevertheless, a unique spawning behavior has been observed, which has been referred to as transbranchioral ("through the gill chamber"). When the eggs are laid, they are transferred directly from the urogenital to the gill chamber and then spat out through the mouth into the substrate.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Poly, W.A. | author2=J.E. Wetzel | name-list-style=amp | title=Transbranchioral spawning: novel reproductive strategy observed for the pirate perch Aphredoderus sayanus (Aphredoderidae) | journal=Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters | year=2003 | volume=14 | issue=2 | pages=151–158 }}</ref> Among fish, gill-brooding is only known from ''[[Amblyopsis]]'' cavefish.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Armbruster, J.W. | author2=M.L. Niemiller | author3=P.B. Hart | name-list-style=amp | title=Morphological Evolution of the Cave-, Spring-, and Swampfishes of the Amblyopsidae (Percopsiformes) | journal=Copeia | year=2016 | volume=104 | issue=3 | pages=763–777 | doi=10.1643/ci-15-339| s2cid=53608365 }}</ref>

==Current management==

According to the [[Iowa Department of Natural Resources]], some major threats that could affect their [[habitat]]s could be [[siltation]] due to poor upland treatment. Since these fish reside in habitats with slight water current, a change upstream such as water channels, dams, or drainages could alter the flow of water in that system, which could change the rate at which water flows downstream. Water pollution as a result from agricultural runoff and discharge from urban areas can create environments unsuitable for these species. Ohio has expressed some interest in conserving the species due to the perch having such a small area it can inhabit in the northwestern part of the state. Besides Ohio, little concern has been shown about this species overall.

==References==
{{Commons category|Aphredoderus sayanus}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1457936}}

[[Category:Aphredoderidae]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States]]

[[Category:Fish described in 1824]]

Pirate perch - Revision history

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