[6] They have 5–10 dark vertical bars along their bodies, rather than randomly scattered spots like those of the black crappie.

White crappies have spinous rays and ctenoid fish scales found in advanced teleosts.

[9] The white crappie rarely exceeds 2 pounds (0.91 kg), and typically lives 2–7 years.

[7] The current International Game Fish Association all-tackle world record for a white crappie is 2.35 kg (5.2 lb), caught on July 31, 1957, near Enid Dam, Mississippi, by angler Fred Bright, while the IGFA all-tackle length world record is a 39-centimetre (15 in) fish, caught on October 14, 2022, in Grenada Lake, Mississippi, by angler Doug Borries.

[10] White crappies are native to the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi River basins expanding from New York and southern Ontario westward to South Dakota and southward to Texas.

This species has a large geographic range in the United States and currently has a stable population.

Males construct nests by creating small, bowl-shaped depressions on the bottom around brush, rocks, and logs in the shallow water.

[8] Males guard these nests because it helps ensure the success of their genes being passed on to the next generation.

The adults feed mainly on small fish such as minnows and young American shad,[14] and large invertebrates such as crayfish and hellgrammites.

In Pennsylvania and Ohio, adults eat small common carp, yellow perch, bluegill, and other white crappies.