Lepomis

Lepomis
Temporal range: Middle Miocene to Recent
Redbreast sunfish (L. auritus), the type species of the genus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Centrarchiformes
Family: Centrarchidae
Subfamily: Lepominae
Genus: Lepomis
Rafinesque, 1819[1]
Type species
Lepomis auritus
Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Allotis Hubbs, 1927
  • Apomotis Rafinesque, 1819
  • Bryttus Valenciennes, 1831
  • Chaenobryttus Gill, 1864
  • Erichaeta Jordan, 1877
  • Eupomotis Gill & Jordan, 1877
  • Glossoplites Jordan, 1876
  • Helioperca Jordan, 1877
  • Icthelis Rafinesque, 1820
  • Pomotis Cuvier, 1829
  • Pomotis Rafinesque, 1819
  • Sclerotis Hubbs, 1927
  • Telipomis Rafinesque, 1820
  • Xenotis Jordan, 1877
  • Xystroplites Jordan, 1877

Lepomis or true sunfish is a genus of North American freshwater fish from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes (perch-like fish). The generic name Lepomis derives from the Greek λεπίς ("scale") and πῶμα ("cover", "plug", "operculum"). The genus' most recognizable species is perhaps the bluegill.

Some Lepomis species can grow to a maximum overall length of 41 cm (16 in), though most average around 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in). Many species are sought by anglers as popular panfishes, and large numbers are bred and stocked in lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands. They are widely distributed throughout the freshwater lakes and river tributaries of the United States and Canada, and several species have been translocated and flourished around the world, even becoming pests. Aquarium trade in some Lepomis species is prohibited in Germany for this reason.[3]

Lepomis species, among others, are sometimes referred to as bream, but the term is also used to refer explicitly to the unrelated European cypriniform fish of genus Abramis.[4]

  1. ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Lepomis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Centrarchidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. ^ Przybylski, Mirosław, and Grzegorz Zięba. "Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet." NOBANIS – Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet. NOBANIS. NOBANIS, 2011. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet - Lepomis gibbosus
  4. ^ "Bream". Britannica. Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 15 January 2020.