Lepomis

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Lepomis Rafinesque, 1819, is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. The type species is L. auritus, the redbreast sunfish. The species of this genus are known as common or eared sunfishes. The most recognizable of this genus is common to many anglers as the "bluegill".

The common sunfishes, which grow to a maximum overall length of 12–40 cm (5–16 in), depending on species, are widely distributed throughout the lakes and rivers of the United States and Canada, and several species have been transplanted and flourished around the world, even becoming pests. (Trade in some Lepomis species is prohibited in Germany for this reason.) Many are sought by anglers as panfish, and large numbers are bred to stock lakes.

Lepomis species are sometimes referred to as bream, but the term more properly refers to the similar-looking but unrelated European Cypriniformes of genus Abramis.

The generic name Lepomis derives from the Greek λεπίς (scale) and πώμα (cover, plug, operculum).

Species

L. auritus - redbreast sunfish
L. cyanellus - green sunfish
L. gibbosus - pumpkinseed
L. gulosus - warmouth
L. humilis - orangespotted sunfish
Lepomis macrochirus - bluegill
L. marginatus - dollar sunfish
L. megalotis - longear sunfish
L. microlophus - redear sunfish
L. miniatus - redspotted sunfish
L. punctatus - spotted sunfish
L. symmetricus - bantam sunfish

L. gulosus, the warmouth, was formerly Chaenobryttus gulosus, the only species of that genus. ITIS still uses the old classification.

References

FishBase: Lepomis

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 12:23:22 PDT (GMT -0700)
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