Pygmy sunfish

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Elassoma
Elassoma sp.jpg
Unidentified species
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Centrarchiformes
Suborder: Centrarchoidei
Family: Elassomatidae
D. S. Jordan, 1877
Genus: Elassoma
D. S. Jordan, 1877
Type species
Elassoma zonata
D. S. Jordan, 1877
Species

See text.

Elassoma is a genus of freshwater fish, the only member of family Elassomatidae in the order Centrarchiformes. [1] [2] 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. [1] [3] 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. [4]

Contents

The pygmy sunfishes grow to a maximum overall length of 3 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 in). They occur mostly in temperate and subtropical swamps, marshes, 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. Eggs 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 worms, insects, or crustaceans as food.

Etymology

The generic name Elassoma derives from the Greek ελάσσων (elasson) meaning smaller and σώμα (soma) meaning body, in reference to the fishes' diminutive size compared to the typical sunfishes.

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: [5]

SpeciesCommon nameImage
Elassoma alabamae

Mayden, 1993

spring pygmy sunfish Male spring pygmy Sunfish.jpg
Elassoma boehlkei

Rohde & R. G. Arndt, 1987

Carolina pygmy sunfish
Elassoma evergladei

D. S. Jordan, 1884

Everglades pygmy sunfish Pygmy Sunfish, Elassoma evergladei.jpg
Elassoma gilberti

Snelson, Krabbenhoft & Quattro, 2009

Gulf Coast pygmy sunfish Elassoma Gilberti male in breeding colors.jpg
Elassoma okatie

Rohde & R. G. Arndt, 1987

bluebarred pygmy sunfish Elassoma okatie.jpg
Elassoma okefenokee

J. E. Böhlke, 1956

Okefenokee pygmy sunfish Elassoma okefenokee.jpg
Elassoma zonatum

D. S. Jordan, 1877

banded pygmy sunfish Elassoma zonatum 180614264.jpg

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Classification - California Academy of Sciences". www.calacademy.org. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  2. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 444–446. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6.
  3. Lavoué, Sébastien; Nakayama, Kouji; Jerry, Dean R.; Yamanoue, Yusuke; Yagishita, Naoki; Suzuki, Nobuaki; Nishida, Mutsumi; Miya, Masaki (2014-10-01). "Mitogenomic phylogeny of the Percichthyidae and Centrarchiformes (Percomorphaceae): comparison with recent nuclear gene-based studies and simultaneous analysis" . Gene. 549 (1): 46–57. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2014.07.033. ISSN   0378-1119.
  4. Jörg Bohlen; Arne Nolte. "Elassoma zonatum, E. okefenokee, and E. evergladei: Habitats and Comparative Observations" (PDF). Nanfa.org. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  5. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Elassoma". FishBase . April 2013 version.

Other sources