Pumpkinseed

§ Quick facts

§ Encyclopedia

The pumpkinseed, also referred to as sun perch, pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small to medium–sized freshwater fish of the genus Lepomis, from the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) in the order Centrarchiformes. It is endemic to eastern North America.

Source: Wikipedia — Pumpkinseed · Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

§ Identification

Field marks. Compact deep-bodied panfish with golden-olive body marked with brilliant blue, orange, and turquoise spots; distinctive bright red crescent on rear edge of dark gill cover (the "ear flap").

Similar species. Bluegill (dark gill cover spot; no red crescent). Redbreast Sunfish (red breast, different markings). Longear Sunfish (similar but smaller).

Voice. Silent.

§ Diet & behavior

Diet. Aquatic insects, snails (mostly snails — uses specialized pharyngeal teeth to crush shells), small fish, leeches, mollusks.

Behavior. Among the most colorful native US panfish. Males build saucer-shaped nests in shallow water during late spring/early summer and aggressively defend them from intruders, including humans wading near the nest. Hybridizes with Bluegill where stocked; hybrids are larger and more aggressive than either parent species. Specialized snail-eating teeth in throat (pharyngeal mill) make pumpkinseeds important predators of intermediate-host snails in pond ecosystems.

§ Range

Eastern North America

§ Habitat

Lakes, ponds, slow streams

§ Threats

Habitat loss, water quality decline.

§ Conservation status

According to the IUCN Red List, the pumpkinseed is currently classified as Least Concern.

§ What helps

Support clean water laws.

§ Further reading

• Wikipedia — Pumpkinseed
• www.nwf.org — authoritative profile of Lepomis gibbosus
• IUCN Red List · taxon 61258
• iNaturalist · taxon 49619
• GBIF occurrence records
• Encyclopedia of Life — Lepomis gibbosus

§ Sources cited

• American Fisheries Society
• Cornell Lab of Aquatic Biology
• National Park Service
• IUCN Red List 2013