Species IUCN · Least Concern (LC)

Longear Sunfish

Lepomis megalotis, (Rafinesque, 1820)

freshwater

About Longear Sunfish

The longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, of order Centrarchiformes. It is native to the area of eastern North America stretching from the Great Lakes down to northeastern Mexico. The longear sunfish reaches a maximum recorded length of about 24 cm (9.4 in), with a maximum recorded weight of 790 g (1.74 lb). Most do not live beyond six years. The longear sunfish is quite colorful, with an olive to rusty-brown back, bright orange belly and vermiculate blue-green bars on the sides of its head, the latter two features most pronounced in breeding males. A unique characteristic of longear sunfish is their elongated operculum flap, giving an appearance of a "long ear". It is black and often has a white margin. The pectoral fin is relatively short and would not reach the snout if it were reflected anteriorly. In breeding males, iridescent blue spots develop on the dorsum and sides and the fin membranes turn orange in all fins except the ventral ones, which may be blue to black, and the pectoral ones. Lepomis megalotis can be distinguished from closely related dollar sunfish L. marginatus by a greater number of cheek scale rows, by having one to two additional pectoral fin rays and by the slope of the opercular flap, which is distinctly upward in L. marginatus but is closer to horizontal in males of L. megalotis, although female and subadult L. megalotis may have upward slanting opercular flaps.

Habitat

Longear sunfish are found in North America, primarily in the Mississippi and Great Lakes regions. Longear sunfish are mostly found in freshwater areas west of the Appalachian Mountains. Some Lepomis populations are located as far north and west as southern Quebec and Minnesota. The species has also been spotted in places as far south and west as central Mexico and New Mexico. The species has been introduced to stream ecosystems along the eastern coast of the United States. The distribution of the longear sunfish throughout North America has not been affected since the species has been followed. This may be due to the species' ability to travel throughout large bodies of water, thus avoiding dams and man-made interferences along smaller streams. They are also able to occupy different body of water types, thus making them more resilient to a decrease in their range distribution.

Behaviour

Longear sunfish feed more extensively near the surface of the water than other sunfish species. Lepomis megalotis is mostly a carnivorous fish that eats aquatic insects, small crustaceans, fish eggs, young bass, and even young sunfish. They have also been observed eating dragonflies and other insects which travel over the surface of the water. Other observed prey have been detritus, gnat larvae, snails, day flies and leeches. The diets of adult longear (longer than 102 mm) are composed of terrestrial insects (37%), fish (31%), aquatic insects (21%), and fish eggs (7%). Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and wading birds are all natural predators to the longear sunfish. Smaller species of longear can be preyed on by larger sunfish populations. Sunfish are an important link in the food chain. They act as both predator and prey within their ecosystems.

Humans & conservation

Longear sunfish are not currently endangered in any of their native habitats. They are not listed federally or internationally as threatened or endangered, but efforts are still being conducted in order to protect the species. Small conservation actions are taking place all over the US. Control of non-point source pollution from urbanization and agricultural practices is needed for this species, which is intolerant of turbidity. Habitat degradation and loss from shoreline and watershed agriculture threatens this species which prefers clear, shallow streams with aquatic vegetation. Sedimentation and agricultural runoff also threatens this species which is believed to have been lost from many locations because of the effects of soil erosion.

Where to see it

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