Lepomis - Sunfishes

Lepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family, Centrarchidae. Perhaps the most recognizable species of this genus is the bluegill.

Some Lepomis species can grow to a maximum overall length of 41 cm (16 in), though most average around 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in). They are widely distributed throughout the lakes and rivers of the United States and Canada, and several species have been transplanted and flourished around the world, even becoming pests. Trade in some Lepomis species is prohibited in Germany for this reason. Many are sought by anglers as panfish, and large numbers are bred to stock lakes, rivers, and tributaries.

Lepomis species, among others, are sometimes referred to as bream, but the term is also used to refer explicitly to the unrelated European cypriniform fish of genus Abramis.

The generic name Lepomis derives from the Greek λεπίς (scale) and πῶμα (cover, plug, operculum).

There are currently 13 recognized species in this genus:

Lepomis auritus (Linnaeus, 1758) (redbreast sunfish)
Lepomis cyanellus (Rafinesque, 1819) (green sunfish)
Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (pumpkinseed)
Lepomis gulosus (G. Cuvier, 1829) (warmouth)
Lepomis humilis (Girard, 1858) (orangespotted sunfish)
Lepomis macrochirus (Rafinesque, 1819) (bluegill)
Lepomis marginatus (Holbrook, 1855) (dollar sunfish)
Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque, 1820) (longear sunfish)
Lepomis microlophus (Günther, 1859) (redear sunfish)
Lepomis miniatus (D. S. Jordan, 1877) (redspotted sunfish)
Lepomis peltastes (Cope, 1870) (northern sunfish)
Lepomis punctatus (Valenciennes, 1831) (spotted sunfish)
Lepomis symmetricus (S. A. Forbes, 1883) (bantam sunfish)