Long considered to be a subspecies of Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides, recent analysis has shown them to be a distinct species. Historically the native range of Florida Bass was considered to be confined to peninsular Florida, however they are also show to co-occur with Largemouth Bass further north, and may in fact extend all the way to North Carolina. Florida Bass typically have 69-73 lateral line scales (as opposed to 59-67 on Largemouth Bass), 11-13 rows of scales on their cheek (vs 10-11), 17-18 rows of scales below the lateral line (vs 14-17), and 29-31 scales around the caudal peduncle (vs 27-28).