The redbreast sunfish (''Lepomis auritus'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the sunfish

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(

Centrarchidae Centrarchidae, better known as sunfishes or centrarchids, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Centrarchiformes, native only to North America. There are eight universally included genera within the centrarchid famil ...

) of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Centrarchiformes Centrarchiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, previously included amongst the perciformes. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2023). FishBase. Centrarchiformes. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies. ...

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of its

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

, it is native to the river systems of eastern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The redbreast sunfish reaches a maximum recorded length of about . The species prefers vegetated and rocky pools and lake margins for its habitat. Its diet can include

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s, and other small

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s. A

panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any food fish, edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational fishing, re ...

popular with anglers, the redbreast sunfish is also kept as an

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

fish by hobbyists. Redbreast sunfish are usually caught with live bait such as nightcrawlers,

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s, waxworms, or

mealworms Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor'', a species of darkling beetle. The yellow mealworm beetle prefers a warmer climate and higher humidity. Male mealworm beetles release a sex pheromone to attr ...

. They can also be caught using small lures or flies. Most anglers use light spinning tackle to catch redbreast sunfish. It is popular with fly anglers in the winter because it will more readily strike a moving fly than will

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...

s in cooler water. As is typical for the sunfishes, the female redbreast sunfish lays her eggs (about 1000) in a substrate depression built by the male. The male guards the eggs and fry. The specific epithet, ''auritus,'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for big-eared.

Description

Redbreast Sunfish Caught on 1-8oz Rooster Tail in Georgia

The average length of the redbreast sunfish is around with a record . The record weight for the fish is . The redbreast sunfish is characterized by a long black opercular flap, which is longer than those of most other sunfish in its range. There are a few blue iridescent vermiculations on the head. Small teeth may be appreciated, mostly on the roof of the mouth. There are faint vertical bars present on the olive-green bodies of both sexes, which may become more apparent as the background coloration changes to blue-green near the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

. Males have darker ventral coloration than that of females, ranging from orange-yellow to orange-red. The

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

has a shallow fork and may have orange to red pigmentation. It is common within the redbreast sunfish's native and introduced range for hybridization with other sunfish species to occur.

Distribution

The species' native range is in the eastern United States and Canada, in rivers emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. The redbreast sunfish tends to be more of a cool-river species, but also inhabits freshwater lakes and streams. The species has been introduced as far west as Louisiana and

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

. ''Lepomis auritus'' has been transplanted to and become established in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The effects of introduced populations of redbreast sunfish on native species are not well studied.

Ecology

Redbreast sunfish mainly consume immature aquatic insects. Mayflies, small fish, and dragonfly larvae consist of the majority of the sunfish's diet based on stomach content. Small crayfish may also be consumed. Being an opportunistic feeder, the fish competes with other sunfish and larger predatory fish that prey on the same food they do. Larger piscivorous fish are the main predators of smaller redbreast sunfish. ''

Micropterus ''Micropterus'' is a genus of North American freshwater fish collectively known as the black bass, which belong to the sunfish family (biology), family Centrarchidae of order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. They are sometimes erroneously cal ...

'' species are a major threat to sunfish because of their shared habitat and the availability of the sunfish. The sunfish prefers structures around banks and overhanging branches that provide food, shade, and protection. ''Lepomis auritus'' survives best in water with a current and a pH between 7.0 and 7.5. Lack of current, overly acidic, or basic water can dramatically affect the sunfish's survival rate. Human influence on abiotic factors, such as sunlight, and biotic factors, such as predator numbers, can have a major influence on sunfish. Clearing debris from the bank can increase the amount of sunlight that reaches the water, thus increasing water temperature, while also decreasing the number of hiding places along the bank that sunfish can use. Decreasing the number of larger predatory fish by harvesting them will increase the survival rate of the redbreast sunfish.

Life history

The redbreast sunfish is a spring spawner on sand-gravel substrate, depending on location or when water temperature reaches . Males build a nest in shallow water. The female deposits her eggs in the nest, and the male guards the nest after fertilizing the eggs.

Cuckoldry A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife (or partner for unmarried companions); the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not geneti ...

, in which a non-nesting male fertilizes eggs left in a nest, has also been observed. Average egg production for the sunfish is around 3000, depending on the age of the female. Mature ova are around in diameter. Reproductive maturity is reached in the second year of life. They have been known to have a maximum lifespan of around eight years. Currently, humans do not play a large role in influencing life history due to large populations and secluded areas.

Relationship with humans

Management

Currently, the redbreast sunfish is not on the federal or state endangered or threatened species list. The species is thriving in its natural habitat.

Angling

The

IGFA The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current world record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers and anglers are careful to follow ...

all tackle world record for the species stands at caught from the

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River or Swanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the Southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrog ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 1984. A Georgia state record fish caught in the

Satilla River The Satilla River rises in Ben Hill County, Georgia, United States, near the town of Fitzgerald, and flows in a mostly easterly direction to the Atlantic Ocean. Along its approximately U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset hi ...

in May 2022 tied the world record. A North Carolina state record fish caught on the

Lumber River The Lumber River, sometimes referred to as the Lumbee River, is a river in south-central North Carolina in the flat Coastal Plain. European settlers first called the river Drowning Creek, which is still used as the name of its headwater. The w ...

in 2019 weighed .

References

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

''Lepomis auritus''
*

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

''Lepomis auritus''
* * * * *Cooke, Steven, and David P. Philipp. Centrarchid Fishes: Diversity, Biology, and Conservation. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print. * *Nadig, Susan G. Evaluating Potential Alteration of Genetic Diversity in Populations of Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis Auritus) Using RAPD ASSAY. Thesis. The University of Tennessee Knoxville, 1996. Print. *Sharp, Stanley K. Serum Levels of 17B-Estradiol and Testosterone as Indicators of Environmental Stress in Redbreast Sunfish, Lepomis Auritus. Thesis. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1994. Print. *Shepard, Kenneth L. Use of Standard Metabolic Rate as an Indicator of Environmental Stress in Redbreast Sunfish, Lepomis Auritus. Thesis. The University of Tennessee Knoxville, 1988. Print. {{Authority control Lepomis Fish described in 1758 Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Freshwater fish of North America