Fliers create nests in rocks or gravel and surround their eggs with a round adhesive egg envelope. They are colonial nesters, nesting in aggregations with the nests quite closely spaced. Sexual maturity is attained at one year old and when they are long. The male parent guards the eggs and newly hatched fry. If they are frightened or alarmed, these fish will look for shelter among aquatic vegetation, submerged tree roots or mats of floating vegetation. Taxonomy and etymology The flier was first formally described by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756-1825) in 1801 as Labrus macropterus with the type locality given as South Carolina. In 1829 Georges Cuvier placed it in the genus Centrarchus. The genus Centrarchus is the sister taxon to the Archoplites and in turn these two are sister to Pomoxis. The generic name is a compound of the Greek kentron meaning "sting" and archos meaning "anus", a reference to the long spines in the anal fin. The specific name macropterus is also Greek and means "long fin". Cultural references A Gato-class submarine, USS Flier, built in 1943, was named for this species. See also Centrarchiformes References "Flier (Centrarchus Macropterus)." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/flier/>. Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of the fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 7th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda Maryland. "Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries." Flier (Centrarchus Macropterus). N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <https://web.archive.org/web/20140501143348/http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/fish/details.asp?fish=010176>. Centrarchinae Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States Fauna of the Southeastern United States Fish described in 1801 Freshwater fish of North America