Green sunfish

The green sunfish is native to a wide area of North America, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Appalachian Mountains in the east and from the Hudson Bay basin in Canada to the Gulf Coast in the United States and northern Mexico.{{cite web |last1=Fuller |first1=Pam |last2=Cannister |first2=Matt |last3=Neilson |first3=Matt |url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=380 |date=14 August 2019 |title=Lepomis cyanellus (green sunfish) |website=Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=12 July 2022}} They are specifically indigenous to a number of lakes and rivers, such as the Great Lakes and some of the basins of the Mississippi River.

Green sunfish have been introduced to many bodies of water all across the United States.(Page et al. 1991, p. 267). The green sunfish is considered an invasive species by the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and New Jersey, with unconfirmed presence in Vermont and New Hampshire, namely the Connecticut River and its tributaries.Electro-fishing surveys, NH DES. Their invasive potential is due in part to their penchant for chasing other sunfish away from mutually preferred habitat of submerged vegetation, a form of interference competition,{{cite book |last=Ross |first=Stephen T. |title=Ecology of North American Freshwater Fishes |chapter=Chapter Eleven, Interactions in Resource Acquisition I |pages=242–243 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-520-24945-5}}{{cite journal |last1=Werner |first1=Earl E. |last2=Hall |first2=Donald J. |title=Response: Density and Competition among Sunfish: Some Alternatives |journal=Science |volume=195 |issue=4273 |pages=94–95 |date=7 January 1977 |doi=10.1126/science.195.4273.94.b |s2cid=239813025 |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.195.4273.94.b |access-date=13 July 2022|url-access=subscription }} their relatively large mouth,{{cite journal |last1=Werner |first1=Earl E. |last2=Hall |first2=Donald J. |journal=Ecology |date=1977 |title=Competition and Habitat Shift in Two Sunfishes (Centrarchidae) |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=869–876 |doi=10.2307/1936222 |jstor=1936222 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1936222 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 July 2022}} high fecundity and ability to tolerate sediment pollution. In the state of New Jersey, as of 2021, anglers must destroy green sunfish when caught and should report their catch to a state fisheries biologist.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/2021/digfsh21-regs.pdf |title=2021 Regulations |date=2021 |magazine=New Jersey Fish & Wildlife Digest, 2021 Freshwater Issue |publisher=Division of Fish & Wildlife, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection |page=17 |access-date=12 July 2022}} In the state of Florida, a permit is required in order to possess green sunfish as it is listed as a prohibited non-native species there.{{cite web |title=Fla. Admin. Code 68-5.006 & 68-5.007 |website=Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register |publisher=Florida Department of State |url=https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=68-5 |date=27 June 2022 |access-date=12 July 2022}} L. cyanellus has been transplanted to countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, where it has become established in some.

Image:GreenSunfish2.jpg

The green sunfish is blue-green in color on its back and sides with yellow-flecked bony-ridged (ctenoid) scales, as well as yellow coloration on the ventral sides. The gill covers and sides of head have broken bright blue stripes, causing some to mistakenly confuse them with bluegill. They also have a dark spot located near the back end of the dorsal fin, the base of the anal fin(Philips et al. 1982, p. 208; Page et al. 1991, p. 267) and on the opercular flap.{{cite web|url=https://www.outdooralabama.com/bream/green-sunfish|title=Green Sunfish|website=Outdoor Alabama|year=2024|publisher=Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|orig-date=Originally published 1996 in Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin|last1=Mettee|first1=Maurice F.|last2=O'Neil|first2=Patrick E.|last3=Pierson|first3=J. Malcolm|access-date=11 October 2024}} The margins of the soft-rayed portion of the dorsal fin, the caudal fin, the ventral fins and the anal fin are orange or yellow, most pronounced in individuals during breeding periods. L. cyanellus has a relatively big mouth and long snout that extends to beneath the middle of the eye.(Philips et al. 1982, p. 208; Page et al. 1991, p. 267). Its pectoral fins are short with rounded edges containing 13 to 15 pectoral fin rays,{{cite web|url=https://calfish.ucdavis.edu/species/?uid=62&ds=698|title=Fish Species: Green Sunfish|website=California Fish Website|publisher=University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Regents of the University of California|access-date=11 October 2024|year=2024}} a dorsal fin with about 10 dorsal spines followed by 10 to 12 rays and a homocercal tail. The typical length ranges from about 3–7 in and the fish usually weighs less than a pound. The green sunfish reaches a maximum recorded length of about {{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=on}}, with a maximum recorded weight of {{convert|960|g|lb|abbr=on}}. Identification of sunfish species from one another can sometimes be difficult as these species frequently hybridize.(Philips et al. 1982, p. 208-209).

File:Green sunfish from Walnut Point State Park, east-central Illinois.jpg

The species prefers areas in sluggish backwaters, lakes, and ponds with gravel, sand, or bedrock bottoms. They also can be found in very muddy waters and are able to tolerate poor water conditions. Green sunfish tend to spend their time hiding around rocks, submerged logs, plants, and other things that provide cover.

Its diet can include aquatic insects and larvae, insects that fall into the water, crayfish, snails, other molluscs, turtle food, frogs, some small fish, fish eggs, bryozoans, zooplankton, other small invertebrates, and sometimes plant material. They are omnivores.

File:Lepomis cyanellus UMFS 2014 3.JPG

Green sunfish begin spawning in the summer with the exact time varying with location and water temperature. When they do spawn, the males create nests in shallow water by clearing depressions in the bottom,(Philips et al. 1982, p. 209) often near a type of shelter such as rocks or submerged logs.(Paulson 2004). The male defends his nest from other males using visual displays and physical force when necessary.(Paulson 2004) On occasion, simply constructing a nest is sufficient for the male to attract a mate, but when it is not he will court a female with grunts and lead her to his nest.

They continue their courtship dance, swimming with each other around the nest until the female descends to deposit her eggs in the nest. The female will lay 2,000 to 26,000 eggs and leave them for the male to guard. He keeps watch over them until they hatch in three to five days, while protecting them and fanning them with his fins, keeping them clean and providing them with oxygenated water. When they hatch, the fry remain near the nest for a few days, then leave to feed and fend for themselves. After the eggs have hatched, the male will often seek to attract another female to lay her eggs in his nest. Lepomis cyanellus typically live between 4 and 6 years in the wild.

Green sunfish tend to nest in areas close to other green sunfish, as well as other species of sunfish. Due to the close proximity of multiple nests, a green sunfish female may deposit some of her eggs into the nest of a male of a different species. This in turn leads to the next generation containing some amount of hybrids. These green sunfish hybrids will often look like a combination of their parents, often making it difficult to distinguish one species from another.(Philips et al. 1982, p. 209).

{{See also|Vision in fish}}

The retina of the green sunfish includes a mosaic of cone cells and double cone cells in a regular arrangement.{{cite journal |last1=Rowe |first1=M.P. |last2=Engheta |first2=N. |last3=Easter |first3=S.S. |last4=Pugh |first4=E.N. |title=Graded-index model of a fish double cone exhibits differential polarization sensitivity |journal=Journal of the Optical Society of America A |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=55–70 |date=1994 |doi=10.1364/JOSAA.11.000055 |pmid=8106915 |url=https://opg.optica.org/josaa/viewmedia.cfm?uri=josaa-11-1-55 |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 July 2022}} The green sunfish has been theorized to have vision that is sensitive to the polarization of light,{{cite journal |last1=Cameron |first1=David A. |last2=Pugh Jr. |first2=Edward N. |date=1991 |title=Double Cones As A Basis For A New Type Of Polarization Vision In Vertebrates |journal=Nature |volume=353 |issue=6340 |pages=161–164 |doi=10.1038/353161a0 |pmid=1891046 |s2cid=4252617 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/353161a0 |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 July 2022}} which could enhance visibility of targets in scattering media if a processing technique called polarization difference imaging is employed by the fish.{{cite thesis |last=Tyo |first=J. Scott |title=Polarization difference imaging: A means for seeing through scattering media |type=PhD |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |date=1997 |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9727305 |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 July 2022}} Experimental evidence, however, suggests that green sunfish are not able to visually discriminate on the basis of light polarization.{{cite thesis |last=Lynch |first=Eileen Mary |title=Categorical color discrimination in the green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus |type=PhD |date=1998 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9829939 |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 July 2022}} Thus, the function of the green sunfish's retinal patterning is not known, although the two different types of cone cell present in green sunfish do facilitate color discrimination.

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world record for the species stands at {{convert|0.96|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}, caught from Stockton Lake, Missouri in 1971.{{cite web |title=Sunfish, green (Lepomis cyanellus) |url=https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Sunfish,%20green|website=igfa.org |publisher=International Game Fish Association |access-date=13 October 2024}}

The generic name Lepomis derives from the Greek λεπίς (scale) and πώμα (cover, plug, operculum). The specific epithet, cyanellus, derives from the Greek κυανός (blue).

An aggressive sunfish, it is difficult to keep with other green sunfishes, other sunfishes, or even other perciform fishes in general unless kept in very spacious aquaria or ponds.{{Cite web |title=Rating Sunfish Aggression |url=https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/rating-sunfish-aggression.702620/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=MonsterFishKeepers.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Indiviglio |first=Frank |date=2012-12-13 |title=Sunfish Care - Keeping Pumpkinseeds, Bluegills and Their Relatives |url=http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2012/12/13/sunfish-care-keeping-pumpkinseeds-bluegills-and-their-relatives/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=That Fish Blog |language=en-US}} Like many fishes, it is more tolerant of distantly related species (i.e., catfishes and minnows), if they are too large to be eaten. The green sunfish accepts a variety of foods, including flakes, pellets, krill, brine shrimp, bloodworms, and live prey.{{cite web |last1=young |first1=adam |title=Green Sunfish – The Complete Fishing and Species Guide. |url=https://panfishnation.com/green-sunfish/ |website=panfish nation |access-date=21 July 2022}}{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Rich |date=2021-09-14 |title=Green Sunfish 101: Care, Diet, Tank Size, Tank Mates & More |url=https://aquariumpart.com/green-sunfish/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=Aquarium Part |language=en-US}}

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{{Commons}}

{{Wikispecies|Lepomis cyanellus}}

• {{FishBase| genus=Lepomis| species=cyanellus| month=June| year=2014}}
• {{ITIS| id=168132| taxon=Lepomis cyanellus}}
• {{cite book |last=Ellis |first=Jack |title=The Sunfishes-A Fly Fishing Journey of Discovery |year=1993 |publisher=Abenaki Publishers, Inc. |location=Bennington, VT|isbn=0-936644-17-6 }}
• {{cite book |last=Rice |first=F. Philip |title=America's Favorite Fishing-A Complete Guide to Angling for Panfish |year=1964 |publisher=Harper Row |location=New York }}
• {{cite book |last=Rice |first=F. Philip |title=Panfishing |year=1984 |publisher=Stackpole Books |location=New York |isbn=0-943822-25-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/panfishing00rice }}
• {{cite book |last=Malo |first=John |title=Fly-Fishing for Panfish |publisher=Dillon Press Inc. |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |year=1981 |isbn=0-87518-208-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/flyfishingforpan0000malo }}
• Axelrod, Herbert R. et al. (2007) Dr. Axelrod's Atlas of freshwater aquarium fishes T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey, {{ISBN|978-0-7938-0616-4}}
• Philips, Gary, Schmid, W., Underhill, J. (1982) "Fishes of the Minnesota Region". University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, {{ISBN|0-8166-0979-9}}
• Page, Lawrence, Burr, B. (1991) "A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes". Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York, {{ISBN|0-395-91091-9}}
• "Green Sunfish." Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Camping, Boating, Fishing, Hunting, Biking, Hiking in Ohio. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. .
• "Sunfish Biology and Identification: Minnesota DNR." Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: Minnesota DNR. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. .
• "Green Sunfish: Identifying Characteristics." Wyoming Game and Fish - Home - 1. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. .
• Paulson, Nicole, and Jay T. Hatch. "Fishes of Minnesota-Green Sunfish." Green Sunfish. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' MinnAqua Aquatic Program, 25 Aug. 2004. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. .

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Category:Lepomis

Category:Freshwater fish of the United States

Category:Fauna of the Great Lakes region (North America)

Category:Fauna of the Eastern United States

Category:Fish described in 1819

Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque