Editing Pygmy sunfish (section)

{{Short description|Genus of ray-finned fishes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = ''Elassoma''
| image = Elassoma_sp.jpg
| image_caption = Unidentified species
| parent_authority = [[David Starr Jordan|D. S. Jordan]], 1877
| display_parents = 3
| taxon = Elassoma
| authority = [[David Starr Jordan|D. S. Jordan]], 1877
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = See text.
| type_species = ''Elassoma zonata''
| type_species_authority = D. S. Jordan, 1877
}}

'''''Elassoma''''' is a [[genus]] of [[freshwater]] [[fish]], the only member of family '''Elassomatidae''' in the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Centrarchiformes]].<ref name="ECoF">{{cite journal |title=Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Classification - California Academy of Sciences |url=https://www.calacademy.org/scientists/catalog-of-fishes-classification/ |journal=www.calacademy.org |language=en |access-date=14 November 2024}}</ref><ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book  |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=444–446 |publisher=Wiley |isbn= 978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/}}</ref> The [[type species]] is ''E. zonatum,'' the [[banded pygmy sunfish]]. The Elassomatidae are known collectively as '''pygmy sunfishes''', and are thought to be closely related to the true freshwater sunfishes in [[Centrarchidae]].<ref name="ECoF" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lavoué |first=Sébastien |last2=Nakayama |first2=Kouji |last3=Jerry |first3=Dean R. |last4=Yamanoue |first4=Yusuke |last5=Yagishita |first5=Naoki |last6=Suzuki |first6=Nobuaki |last7=Nishida |first7=Mutsumi |last8=Miya |first8=Masaki |date=2014-10-01 |title=Mitogenomic phylogeny of the Percichthyidae and Centrarchiformes (Percomorphaceae): comparison with recent nuclear gene-based studies and simultaneous analysis |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378111914008166 |journal=Gene |volume=549 |issue=1 |pages=46–57 |doi=10.1016/j.gene.2014.07.033 |issn=0378-1119|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the past, researchers believed they were related to sticklebacks and pipefishes (order [[Syngnathiformes]]) rather than Centrarchiformes, though genetic research strongly implies a close relationship with the centrarchids.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Jörg Bohlen |author2=Arne Nolte |title=Elassoma zonatum, E. okefenokee, and E. evergladei: Habitats and Comparative Observations |url=http://www.nanfa.org/ac/AC2012vol37no4_Elassoma%20zonatum%20E_okejenokee%20and%20E_evergladei-habitats%20and%20comparative%20observations_Bohlen_Nolte.pdf |access-date=27 January 2022 |website=Nanfa.org |format=PDF}}</ref> 

The pygmy sunfishes grow to a maximum overall length of {{convert|3|to|4|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}}. They occur mostly in [[temperate]] and [[subtropical]] swamps, [[marsh]]es, and other shallow, slow-moving, and heavily vegetated waters, across an area of the [[American South]] stretching from the Coastal Plain of [[North Carolina]] to central [[Florida]], west along the [[Gulf Coast]] to eastern [[Texas]], and north up the [[Mississippi River Valley]] to southern [[Illinois]]. The bluebarred, Carolina, and spring pygmy sunfishes have small localized populations and are considered Vulnerable.

The pygmy sunfishes are too small to be game fish, but are relatively popular as [[aquarium]] fish because of the males' [[iridescent]] colors and fascinating breeding behaviors. [[egg (biology)|Egg]]s are laid on or beneath dense vegetation, and the male guards the [[nest]] area until the fry hatch and scatter. They adapt well to small aquaria and are relatively adaptable to a range of conditions, but seldom take conventional prepared fish foods, instead requiring small live [[worm]]s, [[insect]]s, or [[crustacean]]s as food.