Pygmy sunfish
Encyclopedia
Elassoma is a genus
of freshwater
fish
, the only member of family
Elassomatidae and suborder Elassomatoidei of order
Perciformes
. The type species
is E. zonatum, the banded pygmy sunfish
. The Elassomatidae are known collectively as pygmy sunfishes, but are not true sunfishes, which are members of family Centrarchidae
. Some researchers believe they are related to sticklebacks and pipefishes (order Syngnathiformes
) rather than Perciformes.
The pygmy sunfishes grow to a maximum overall length of 3 to 4 cm (1.25 to 1.5 in). They occur mostly in temperate
and subtropical swamps, marsh
es, 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 popular as aquarium
fish because of the males' iridescent colors and fascinating breeding behaviors. Egg
s 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 easy to care for, but require small live worm
s, insect
s, or crustacean
s as food. Most individuals will not eat prepared fish foods.
The generic name Elassoma derives from the Greek
ελάσσων (smaller) and σώμα (body), in reference to the fishes' diminutive size compared to the true sunfishes.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, the only member of family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Elassomatidae and suborder Elassomatoidei of order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Perciformes
Perciformes
The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is one of the largest orders of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch-like. They belong to the class of ray-finned fish and comprise over 7,000 species found in almost all aquatic environments...
. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is E. zonatum, the banded pygmy sunfish
Banded pygmy sunfish
Banded pygmy sunfish Elassoma zonatum are a species of Pygmy sunfish-Abstract:The following is a monitoring plan for the Banded Pygmy Sunfish . The plan will cover this pygmy sunfish’s geographic distribution, ecology, life history, current management, and recommended future management plans. The...
. The Elassomatidae are known collectively as pygmy sunfishes, but are not true sunfishes, which are members of family Centrarchidae
Centrarchidae
The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
. Some researchers believe they are related to sticklebacks and pipefishes (order Syngnathiformes
Syngnathiformes
Syngnathiformes is an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the pipefishes and seahorses.These fishes have elongate, narrow, bodies surrounded by a series of bony rings, and small, tubular mouths. Several groups live among seaweed and swim with the body aligned vertically, to blend in with the...
) rather than Perciformes.
The pygmy sunfishes grow to a maximum overall length of 3 to 4 cm (1.25 to 1.5 in). They occur mostly in temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
and subtropical swamps, marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, and other shallow, slow-moving, and heavily-vegetated waters, across an area of the American South stretching from the Coastal Plain of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
to central Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, west along the Gulf Coast to eastern Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and north up the Mississippi River Valley to southern Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. 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 popular as aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
fish because of the males' iridescent colors and fascinating breeding behaviors. Egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s are laid on or beneath dense vegetation, and the male guards the nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
area until the fry hatch and scatter. They adapt well to small aquaria and are easy to care for, but require small live worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, or crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s as food. Most individuals will not eat prepared fish foods.
The generic name Elassoma derives from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
ελάσσων (smaller) and σώμα (body), in reference to the fishes' diminutive size compared to the true sunfishes.
Species
- Spring pygmy sunfish Elassoma alabamae Mayden, 1993.
- Carolina pygmy sunfishCarolina pygmy sunfishThe Carolina pygmy sunfish is a species of fish in the Elassomatidae family. It is endemic to the United States.-Source:* Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. . Downloaded on 4 August 2007....
, Elassoma boehlkei Rohde & Arndt, 1987. - Everglades pygmy sunfish, Elassoma evergladei Jordan, 1884.
- Bluebarred pygmy sunfishBluebarred pygmy sunfishThe bluebarred pygmy sunfish is a species of fish in the Elassomatidae family. It is endemic to the United States.-References:* Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. . Downloaded on 4 August 2007....
, Elassoma okatie Rohde & Arndt, 1987. - Okefenokee pygmy sunfish, Elassoma okefenokee Böhlke, 1956.
- Gulf Coast pygmy sunfishGulf Coast pygmy sunfishThe Gulf Coast pygmy sunfish is known by the taxonomic name Elassoma gilberti. Elassoma gilberti is closely related to Elassoma okefenokee. Elassoma gilberti in general has four preopercular canal pores while Elassoma okefenokee on average has three. The average number of anal fin rays is seven...
, Elassoma gilberti Snelson, Krabbenhoft, and Quattro, 2009. - Banded pygmy sunfishBanded pygmy sunfishBanded pygmy sunfish Elassoma zonatum are a species of Pygmy sunfish-Abstract:The following is a monitoring plan for the Banded Pygmy Sunfish . The plan will cover this pygmy sunfish’s geographic distribution, ecology, life history, current management, and recommended future management plans. The...
, Elassoma zonatum Jordan, 1877.