Bigscale Logperch, Percina macrolepida

Bigscale Logperch, Percina macrolepida. Fish caught from the Pecos River, Carlsbad, New Mexico, June 2021. Length: 8.9 cm (3.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

The Bigscale Logperch, Percina macrolepida, is a member of the Darter and Perches or Percidae Family and is known in Mexico as perca del Bravo. Globally, there are one hundred fifty species in the genus Etheostoma, of which four are found in Mexico’s freshwater systems.

The Bigscale Logperch has a long, slender, tubular body that has a depth that is approximately 14% of standard length. Their head has a projecting pointed snout and there are yellowish with 14 to 16 narrow, long, complete, dark, vertical stripes of equal length on the sides of the body which extend dorsally and ventrally and join those on the opposite side, a dark stripe from the tip of the nose to the eye, and a dark spot at the base of the caudal fin. Their first dorsal fin is light yellow and the anal fin, second dorsal fin, pectoral and pelvic fins are dusky. Their head is small with a subterminal mouth with conical snout with the upper jaw extending to the middle of the eye. They have well developed teeth set in several rows. Breeding males have darker heads and orange bars on the dorsal fins. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 7 to 10 rays; their first dorsal fin has 13 to 15 spines; their second dorsal fin had 12 to 15 rays; their pectoral fins are enlarged, fan like, and have 12 to 14 rays; and their pelvic fins have 1 spine and 5 rays. They are covered with large ctenoid scales.

The Bigscale Logperch is a freshwater benthopelagic that is found in slow moving sections of warm, clear streams and shallow areas of reservoirs over debris, gravel, mud, and rock. They reach a maximum of 11 cm (4.3 inches) in length. They are normally found as individuals and are opportunistic predators that consume a wide variety of invertebrates. Reproduction is oviparous with external fertilization and involves an elaborate mating ritual. Each female will spawn multiple times with different males. Each female will lay between 150 and 400 eggs. Their larvae are pelagic and float downstream settling out in quiet water. The Bigscale Logperch is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Bigscale Logperch is a straightforward identification that cannot be confused with any other species.

In Mexico that range of the Bigscale Logperch is limited to the San Carlos River in Coahuila.

From a conservation perspective the Bigscale Logperch is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. It some regions their long-term survival is of concern, for example they are protected in the State of New Mexico.