Editing Yellow perch (section)

==Description==
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Perca flavescens 441016611.jpg
| image2            = Perca flavescens 441016928.jpg
| align             = left
| total_width       = 300
| image3            = Perca flavescens 441018034.jpg
| image4            = Perca flavescens 447339050.jpg
| perrow            = 2/2
| footer            = In [[Michigan]]
}}
The yellow perch has an elongate, laterally compressed body<ref name="ref1"/> with a subterminal mouth<ref name = ADW>{{cite web |last=Creque|first=Sara|editor-last=Fink|editor-first=William|year=2000 |url = https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Perca_flavescens | title = ''Perca flavescens'' American perch | access-date = 22 November 2022 | work = Animal Diversity Web | publisher = Regents of the University of Michigan}}</ref> and a relatively long but blunt snout which is surpassed in length by the lower jaw.<ref name = FOC>{{cite web | url = https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/yellowperch-perchaude-eng.html | title = Yellow Perch (''Perca flavescens'') | date = 4 May 2018 | access-date = 22 November 2022 | website = Fisheries and Oceans Canada|publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> Yellow perch have 800 fine teeth.<ref name="ref1"/> Their bodies are rough to the touch because of their ctenoid scales.<ref name = ADW/> Like most perches, the yellow perch has two separate dorsal fins.<ref name = FOC/> The anterior, or first, [[dorsal fin]] contains 12–14 spines while the second has 2–3 spines in its anterior followed by 12–13 soft rays. The [[anal fin]] has 2 spines and 7–8 soft rays.<ref name = ADW/> The [[Operculum (fish)|opercula]] tips are spined, and the anal fin has two spines.<ref name="ref1"/> The pelvic fins are close together, and the [[homocercal]] caudal fin is forked. Seven or eight [[branchiostegal rays]] are seen.<ref name="ref1"/>

The upper part of the head and body varies in colour from bright green through to olive or golden brown.<ref name = FOC/> The colour on the upper body extends onto the flanks where it creates a pattern of 6–8 vertical bars over a background of yellow or yellowish green.<ref name = FOC/> They normally show a blackish blotch on the membrane of the first dorsal fin between the rearmost 3 or 4 spines.<ref name = ADW/> The colour of the dorsal and [[caudal fin]]s vary from yellow to green while the anal and [[pelvic fin]]s may be yellow through to silvery white;<ref name = FOC/> in spawning season, males develop pronounced red or yellow color on their lower fins.<ref name = ADW/> The [[pectoral fin]]s are transparent and amber in colour. The ventral part of the body is white<ref name = FOC/> or yellow.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maryland Fish Facts: Yellow Perch|website=Maryland Department of Natural Resources|url=https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/fish-facts.aspx?fishname=Yellow+Perch|access-date=22 November 2022}}</ref> The juvenile fish are paler and can have an almost whitish background colour.<ref name = ADW/> The maximum recorded [[fish measurement|total length]] is {{convert|50|cm|in}}&mdash;although they are more commonly around {{convert|19.1|cm|in}}&mdash;and the maximum published weight is {{convert|1.9|kg|lbs}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>