PERCH (OF.. Fr. perche, from Lat. perca, from Gk. -epse, perch; connected with 7epia(ic, rk nos, Skt. spotted). The name rather loosely applied to a large number of fishes having a perciform body. often belong to cry different families. The true perches belong to the family Percidie and are all fresh-water fishes. In this family the body is elongated, either compressed or cylindieal, and covered with rather small ctenoid scales. There are two dor sals, usually quite distinct, the anterior spinous, and with six to fifteen spinesand the anal with one to two spines. The air bladder is small or en tirely wanting. Perches are usually considered typical spiny rayed fishes. There are about 20 genera and 125 species. They are distributed in the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the majority of the species being confined to Eastern North America. The typical perches (genus Perea ) contain the well-known yellow perches of Europe. Asia. and America, which closely resemble one another. The American spe cies (Perco flarcseens) is a fish well known to all anglers. abounding in the lakes and streains of all the 'eastern half of the country. as far north as the Saint Lawrence River and Nova Scotia. It reaches the length of a foot, is gamy, and ad mirable for eating. Its back is olivacemis in color, the sides golden yellow with six or eight broad dark bars, and the lower tins orange-red.
It spawns in late winter and early spring. laying eggs in zigzag hollow strings. from two to seven feet long. These fish are carnivorous, and feed largely on smaller fishes. including the fry of some more valuable than themselves. They are extremely numerous in the Great Lakes. where they are caught near shore in seines and gill nets in vast qammities. and shipped to interior market- to the value of about •8300.000 annually. Other local names are 'ringed' and perch. Other members of this family are the great tribe (subfamily Etheostomina.) of darter-, the pike-perches. and log-perches (TIN.).
Various other unrelated fishes are styled perches. Thus the salt-water 'perches' of Cali fornia are surf-fishes (q.v.) : the 'Sacramento perch' (q.v.) is a rock-bass: the 'white perch' may lie a drumfish in the East or a surf-fish in the West. Neu also PIKE-PERCH: PIRATE-PERCI1 : TROUT-PERUIL Consult : ;Maher, I n I rod net ion to the Study of Fishes (Edinburgh, 1880) : dor dan and Evermann. Fish'-s of North and 11iddle sh ngton 1898 ; :node. m, riea n Fishes (New York, 1888). see Plate of PERCHES OE NORTH AMERICA.