Incubator escapee wiki

Green sunfish

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox

The green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) is a species of aggressive freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Centrarchiformes. The green sunfish does not always grow large enough to be an appealing target for anglers,<ref name=animaldiversity>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but it is kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists.<ref name="CABI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They grow to be Template:Convert long on average, but can achieve a length of Template:Convert.<ref name="CT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Geographic distributionEdit

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.<ref name="CABI" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>(Page et al. 1991, p. 267).</ref> The green sunfish is considered an invasive species by the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and New Jersey,<ref name="CABI" /> with unconfirmed presence in Vermont and New Hampshire, namely the Connecticut River and its tributaries.<ref>Electro-fishing surveys, NH DES.</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> their relatively large mouth,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> L. cyanellus has been transplanted to countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, where it has become established in some.<ref name="CABI" />

File:GreenSunfish2.jpg
A juvenile

DescriptionEdit

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<ref>(Philips et al. 1982, p. 208; Page et al. 1991, p. 267)</ref> and on the opercular flap.<ref name=mettee2024>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=mettee2024/> L. cyanellus has a relatively big mouth and long snout that extends to beneath the middle of the eye.<ref>(Philips et al. 1982, p. 208; Page et al. 1991, p. 267).</ref> Its pectoral fins are short<ref name=mettee2024/> with rounded edges containing 13 to 15 pectoral fin rays,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a dorsal fin with about 10 dorsal spines followed by 10 to 12 rays<ref name=mettee2024/> 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 Template:Convert, with a maximum recorded weight of Template:Convert. Identification of sunfish species from one another can sometimes be difficult as these species frequently hybridize.<ref>(Philips et al. 1982, p. 208-209).</ref>

HabitatEdit

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

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.

DietEdit

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

ReproductionEdit

File:Lepomis cyanellus UMFS 2014 3.JPG
Adult

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,<ref>(Philips et al. 1982, p. 209)</ref> often near a type of shelter such as rocks or submerged logs.<ref name="Paulson 2004">(Paulson 2004).</ref> The male defends his nest from other males using visual displays and physical force when necessary.<ref>(Paulson 2004)</ref> 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.<ref name="Paulson 2004"/> 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.<ref name="animaldiversity" </>

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.<ref name="Paulson 2004"/> These green sunfish hybrids will often look like a combination of their parents, often making it difficult to distinguish one species from another.<ref>(Philips et al. 1982, p. 209).</ref>

Anatomy and physiologyEdit

Template:See also The retina of the green sunfish includes a mosaic of cone cells and double cone cells in a regular arrangement.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The green sunfish has been theorized to have vision that is sensitive to the polarization of light,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> which could enhance visibility of targets in scattering media if a processing technique called polarization difference imaging is employed by the fish.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Experimental evidence, however, suggests that green sunfish are not able to visually discriminate on the basis of light polarization.<ref name="Lynch">Template:Cite thesis</ref> 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.<ref name="Lynch" />

IGFA recordsEdit

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world record for the species stands at Template:Convert, caught from Stockton Lake, Missouri in 1971.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

EtymologyEdit

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).

AquariaEdit

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="CT" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

General ReferencesEdit

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project

  • {{#invoke:Cite taxon|main|fishbase|genus=|species=|subspecies=}}
  • {{#if:168132

| {{#invoke:template wrapper|wrap|_template=cite web|_exclude=id,ID,taxon 

 | url = https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=168132
 | title = Lepomis cyanellus
 | publisher = Integrated Taxonomic Information System
 }}

| Template:Citation error }}

Template:Taxonbar Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=Green_sunfish&oldid=712139"