From Wildlife Extra:
Scientists discover new fish in Florida
Choctaw bass looks very similar to other species
May 2013. Scientists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have uncovered a new species of black bass in the south-eastern United States. Scientists have proposed naming the new species the Choctaw bass and recommended the scientific name of Micropterus haiaka.
FWC scientists first noted a DNA profile that did not belong to any recognized species while testing a bass specimen from the Chipola River in 2007, as part of a broader genetic study of bass.
“We didn’t set out to find a new species,” said Mike Tringali, who heads the genetics laboratory at the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. “It found us.”
After confirming the initial discovery, scientists searched for the DNA profile in bass caught in nearby rivers to determine the species’ range. They found that the Choctaw bass inhabits coastal river systems in Alabama and along the western Florida panhandle, including the Choctawhatchee River.
“We chose the name ‘Choctaw bass’ because the species’ range overlaps the historic range of the Choctaw Indians,” said Tringali. “As for our recommended scientific name, Micropterus haiaka,‘haiaka’ is a Choctaw word that means ‘revealed.'”
The American Fisheries Society must approve the suggested scientific name for it to take effect.
Similar to Spotted bass
The Choctaw bass is very similar in appearance to its relative, the spotted bass. The physical differences between the two species are not easily seen with the naked eye, one reason they had never before been distinguished despite decades of bass studies in the region.
Related articles
- Florida scientists discover new bass species (cbsnews.com)
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Awesome post! I just did an acceptance blog post thanks so much for including my place here
HUGS
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Thanks for your kind comment!
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🙂
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A new fish! Will wonders never cease? Got to love it.
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New fish species are discovered comparatively often, but mainly, eg, in deep oceans, eg:
https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2007/02/16/new-hagfish-species-discovered/
and
https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/100-new-shark-and-ray-species/
or in not densely populated areas of, eg, South America; like
https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/new-fish-species-in-pacific-guyana-brazil/
This new discovery is special, as it is from relatively well-studied Florida.
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You know, that makes sense — that new animal and plant species would be discovered all the time. Who are we to claim that we know everything and have discovered everything there is to discover. Duh. Thanks for reminder wake/ up call. PEACE-
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Yes, you are right.
Of eg, insects, there are even more new species discoveries than of fish.
PEACE
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Interesting!
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About new insect species, from the Netherlands:
The Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, published in the Netherlands, calls itself A journal of systematic and evolutionary entomology since 1857.
So, recently, it published a special issue celebrating its existence for 150 years.
Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad also published an article about this, in its 29 December 2007 issue, interviewing its chief editor Erik van Nieukerken.
Mr Van Nieukerken estimates that of the one million insect species known to science, 10,000 have been first described in the Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. When it started, it was completely in Dutch. By now, it is completely in English.
Source, and more, at
https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/10000-new-insect-species-described-in-dutch-entomology-journal-2/
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