Which prey items confirm the piscivorous diet of the White Bass, based on their mouth structure?
Answer
They primarily prey on smaller fish like minnows and shad, utilizing their relatively large mouth gape.
The White Bass is classified as primarily piscivorous, meaning its diet heavily consists of fish. This feeding strategy is supported by its physical mouth structure, which features a relatively large gape allowing it to engulf substantial forage items. The text specifically highlights smaller fish, such as minnows and Gizzard Shad, as major components of their diet. The sparse and relatively short gill rakers further support this, indicating the fish is specialized for catching discrete, larger prey items rather than filtering suspended microscopic particles from the water.
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