Pygmy sunfish
From Freepedia
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| Image:Elassoma sp.jpg Pygmy sunfish (Elassoma sp.) | ||||||||||||
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Elassoma Jordan, 1849, is a genus of freshwater fish, the only member of family Elassomatidae and suborder Elassomatoidei of order Perciformes. The type species is E. zonata, the banded pygmy sunfish. The Elassomatidae are known collectively as pygmy sunfishes, but are not true sunfishes, which are members of family Centrarchidae.
The pygmy sunfishes only grow to a maximum overall length of 3–4 cm (roughly 1.25–1.5 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 Carolinas to Alabama and down into southern Florida. One species, the bluebarred pygmy sunfish (E. okatie) is considered Vulnerable.
Unlike many of the true sunfishes, the pygmy sunfishes are not popular game fish because of their size. They are, however, often kept as aquarium fish by hobbyists, especially in Europe.
The generic name Elassoma derives from the Greek ελάσσων (smaller) and σώμα (body), in reference to the fishes' diminuitive size compared to the true sunfishes.
Species
- Elassoma alabamae
- Elassoma boehlkei - Carolina pygmy sunfish
- Elassoma evergladei - Everglades pygmy sunfish
- Elassoma okatie - bluebarred pygmy sunfish
- Elassoma okefenokee - Okefenokee pygmy sunfish
- Elassoma zonatum - banded pygmy sunfish
References
- ITIS: Elassoma
- FishBase: Elassoma
- Duzen, Bill. "The Pygmy Sunfish." The Native Fish Conservancy Website.
