Species: Lepomis macrochirus

Bluegill
Species
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    Body is deep and strongly compressed from side to side. Anal fin has 3 spines. Tail fin is shallowly forked. Spiny front part and soft rear part of dorsal fin are united. Rear part of dorsal fin has a large black spot (faint in young). Often there is a dusky spot at the rear of the anal fin. The sides have dar bars (except in turbid water) that may be thin and chainlike on young bluegill. Pectoral fin is long and pointed. Ear flap is black all the way to the edge. Sides and back are olive with yellow and green flecks. Breeding males have a blue head and back and a bright red-orange breast and belly. Maximum length is around 16.2 inches (41 cm).

    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Actinopterygii

    Order

    Perciformes

    Family

    Centrarchidae

    Genus

    Lepomis

    Classification
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Fishes - Bony Fishes - Sunfishes and Freshwater Basses
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Actinopterygii - Perciformes - Centrarchidae - Lepomis - Reported to hybridize with LEPOMIS CYANELLUS, L. GULOSUS, and L. MEGALOTIS. Though the gender of the name LEPOMIS is feminine (see Bailey and Robins, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl. 45(2):100), the 1991 AFS checklist (Robins et al. 1991) retained the masculine ending for MACROCHIRUS and other species, pending a vote by the ICZN on a petition (by Etnier and Warren) to treat LEPOMIS as masculine for nomenclatural purposes. Three subspecies have been recognized, but stocking programs have mixed populations, and subspecies may no longer be recognizable (Page and Burr 1991, Lee et al. 1980).

    Body is deep and strongly compressed from side to side. Anal fin has 3 spines. Tail fin is shallowly forked. Spiny front part and soft rear part of dorsal fin are united. Rear part of dorsal fin has a large black spot (faint in young). Often there is a dusky spot at the rear of the anal fin. The sides have dar bars (except in turbid water) that may be thin and chainlike on young bluegill. Pectoral fin is long and pointed. Ear flap is black all the way to the edge. Sides and back are olive with yellow and green flecks. Breeding males have a blue head and back and a bright red-orange breast and belly. Maximum length is around 16.2 inches (41 cm).

    Habitat Type Description
    Freshwater
    Migration
    true - false - false
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Feeds opportunistically on aquatic insect larvae, planktonic crustaceans, flying insects, snails, and other small invertebrates; small fishes, fish eggs, crayfish, and algae sometimes are eaten. Larvae and juveniles often eat cladocerans and copepod nauplii. Adults eats mainly aquatic insects, crayfishes, and small fishes, or, in some bodies of water, mostly zooplankton. Feeds at all levels of water column.
    Reproduction Comments
    Spawning occurs over an often extended period in spring and summer. Eggs hatch in about 2-3 days. Males guard the eggs and hatchlings. Spawners may be 1 year old, but usually are 2-3 years old. Bluegill often spawn in colonies that may include dozens of crowded craterlike or saucer-shaped nests.
    Ecology Comments
    Populations of stunted individuals often occur in closed pond systems with no emigration pathway.
    Length
    41
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-09-23
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-09-23
    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.MB=S1&CA.ON=S5&CA.QC=S4&CA.SK=SE&US.AL=S5&US.AZ=SE&US.AR=S4&US.CA=SE&US.CO=SE&US.CT=SE&US.DE=SE&US.DC=SE&US.FL=SNR&US.GA=S5&US.ID=SE&US.IL=S5&US.IN=S5&US.IA=S5&US.KS=S5&US.KY=S4&US.LA=S5&US.MD=__&US.MA=SE&US.MI=S5&US.MN=SNR&US.MS=S5&US.MO=SNR&US.MT=SE&US.NN=SE&US.NE=S5&US.NV=SE&US.NH=SE&US.NJ=SE&US.NM=SE&US.NY=S5&US.NC=S5&US.ND=SNR&US.OH=S5&US.OK=S5&US.OR=SE&US.PA=S5&US.RI=SE&US.SC=SNR&US.SD=S5&US.TN=S5&US.TX=S5&US.UT=SE&US.VT=S5&US.VA=S5&US.WA=SE&US.WV=S5&US.WI=S5&US.WY=SE" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    This species is native to the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins from Quebec and New York to Minnesota and south to the Gulf of Mexico; also Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages from the Cape Fear River, Virginia, to the Rio Grande, Texas and New Mexico; also northern Mexico (Page and Burr 1991). It has been introduced throughout North America and in many other parts of the world.
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101764