Sunfishes Fossil range: Middle Miocene to Recent
Flier (Centrarchus macropterus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Suborder: Percoidei Family: Centrarchidae
Sunfish range
Genera
Acantharchus Ambloplites Archoplites Centrarchus Enneacanthus Lepomis Micropterus Pomoxis

The sunfishes are a family (Centrarchidae) of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus (consisting solely of the flier, C. macropterus). The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the black basses, rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, and crappies. All are native only to North America.

Family members are distinguished by having at least three anal spines. The dorsal spines are 5–13 in number, but most species have 10–12. The pseudobranch is small and concealed. Sizes of most are in the 20–30 cm (8–12 in) range, but with the largemouth bass reported to reach almost one metre (just over three feet) in extreme cases.

The male of most species builds a nest by hollowing out a depression using his tail, then guards the eggs.

Most sunfishes are valued for sports fishing, and have been introduced in many areas outside their original ranges, sometimes becoming pests.

The marine sunfishes (family Molidae) are entirely unrelated; for some other fishes known as "sunfish", see Ocean Sunfish.

Fossil record

The earliest fossils of Centrarchidae are from Middle Miocene Nebraska, belonging to the redear sunfish (13.6-16.3 million years ago)[1].

Classification

Recent genetic evidence suggests the following phylogeny of the centrarchid genera:^[1]

• family Centrarchidae
  • subfamily Centrarchinae
    • tribe Ambloplitini
      • Ambloplites
    • tribe Archoplitini
      • Archoplites
      • Pomoxis
    • tribe Centrarchini
      • Centrarchus
    • tribe Enneacanthini
      • Enneacanthus
  • subfamily Lepominae
    • tribe Lepomini
      • Lepomis
  • incertae sedis
    • Micropterus
    • Acantharchus

References

1. Roe, Kevin J., Phillip M. Harris, and Richard L. Mayden (2002). "Phylogenetic Relationships of the Genera of North American Sunfishes and Basses (Percoidei: Centrarchidae) as Evidenced by the Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene" (PDF). Copeia 2002 (4): 897‒905. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[0897:PROTGO]2.0.CO;2. 

• "Centrarchidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. October 2004 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2004.
• Centrarchidae (TSN 168093). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 5 December 2004.
• German Website about Sunfishes and Basses www.sonnenbarsche.info

Ambloplites rupestris

Micropterus dolomieu

Pomoxis nigromaculatus

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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Centrarchidae". Image Credit.

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