Sunfish
Sunfish are a diverse group of freshwater fish belonging to the family Centrarchidae, with around 35 species native to North America. Well-known examples include the pumpkinseed, bluegill, and warmouth, although not all species carry the name "sunfish." These fish typically grow between 3 and 40 inches in length and possess deep, perch-like bodies covered with thin scales. Sunfish are primarily carnivorous, consuming a diet that includes insect larvae, crustaceans, and smaller fish, but they may also eat plants under certain conditions. During the breeding season, male sunfish establish nesting colonies in warm, shallow waters and can fertilize eggs from multiple females, with a single female laying up to 38,000 eggs. The eggs hatch within 7 to 10 days, and males guard the young fry for several days post-hatching. Sunfish inhabit a variety of freshwater environments, including ponds and marshes, and are found throughout the eastern United States, parts of Canada, and even introduced populations in Europe. While they face predation from larger aquatic animals and fishing pressures, many smaller species remain challenging to catch. The average lifespan of sunfish ranges from seven to eight years.
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Sunfish
Around 35 species in the family Centrarchidae called sunfish are native to North America. Some species do not include the word sunfish in their name—pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), warmouth (Lepomis gulosus), and flier (Centrarchus macropterus). Although sunfish were discovered in North America, they have since been introduced into Europe and other parts of the world.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Centrarchidae
Genus: Various (see below)
Species: Various (see below)
True sunfish are around 10 fish in the genus Lepomis, but the sunfish family comprises several genera organizing nearly 35 species. They grow between 3 and 40 inches (8 and 100 centimeters) long. They have deep, perch-like bodies covered with thin scales. Along the ridges of their backs, sunfish have long, spiny dorsal, or back, fins. These fins work with their anal, or belly, fins to keep sunfish balanced in the water. The tail ends of their bodies have caudal, or tail, fins. These forked fins move side to side, steering the fish through the water. Their pectoral, or side, fins lie on their sides behind their gills. These fins work with their pelvic fins to paddle the fish through the water.
Like other fish, sunfish need oxygen to survive. Unlike humans, who have lungs and can process oxygen from the air, sunfish must find the oxygen they need from the water. They take water into their mouths, keep the oxygen they need, and filter out the waste chemicals through the gills on the sides of their bodies.
Sunfish live in the freshwater ponds, streams, and marshes throughout the eastern half of North America, parts of Europe, southern Canada, and California's Central Valley.
Sunfish are carnivorous, or meat-eating, fish but sometimes add plants to their diet, especially when oxygen is scarce. Since plants produce oxygen, they help sunfish breathe when the water’s oxygen levels are low. As carnivores, sunfish feed on various insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks, smaller fish, and other small aquatic, or water-living, life forms. Sunfish sometimes eat their eggs and young. This cannibalism, or the act of eating one's own kind, helps to control the population of sunfish.
Although sunfish spend most of the year traveling alone, many male sunfish form nesting colonies in warm, shallow water during the breeding season. Mating season begins in late spring and early summer with the males preparing nests for their mates. A single female sunfish may lay as many as 38,000 eggs. Often, more than one female lays eggs in the male’s nest. After the eggs are laid, the male swims over them while releasing his fertilizing substance. This process of releasing and fertilizing eggs is known as spawning. After spawning, the eggs undergo an incubation period, or growth period, of 7 to 10 days. When the fry, or young, hatch they are guarded by the males for a few days.
Like other fish, sunfish are preyed upon by larger, aquatic animals and fish-eating mammals, such as bears. Fishermen also threaten sunfish, but many are too small to be fished.
Sunfish have an average life span of between seven and eight years.
Species include:
Banded sunfish Enneacanthus obesus
Black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus
Green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus
Longear sunfish Lepomis megalotis
Mud sunfish Acantharchus pomotis
Orangespotted sunfish Lepomis humilis
Redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus
White crappie or silver perch Pomoxis annularis
Bibliography
"Bluegill Sunfish." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, www.iucnredlist.org/species/61260/58309944. Accessed 15 May 2024.
"Types of Sunfish in North America." Fishing Booker, 11 Oct. 2023, fishingbooker.com/blog/types-of-sunfish-in-north-america. Accessed 15 May 2024.