Black-spot sunfish
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Black-spot sunfish ( Pomoxis nigromaculatus ) |
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| Pomoxis nigromaculatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Lesueur , 1829) |
The blackspot sunfish ( Pomoxis nigromaculatus ) is a freshwater fish found in North America .
features
Black-spot sunfish have a relatively elongated, laterally strongly flattened body for sunfish. The fish usually reach a length of about 27 cm. The maximum length is 49 cm, the maximum weight determined so far is 2.7 kg. The back line is more curved than the belly line. The dorsal and anal fins are approximately the same size. The basic color of the fish is light gray to light olive green with a silvery sheen. Above the sideline, black-spot sunfish are usually darker. The entire body is patterned with irregular, blackish green to olive green spots ( nigromaculatus = black spots). The fins are similarly colored, but also have yellow spots. Their edges are often dark. The sexes can only be distinguished during the spawning season on the larger body size of the females.
- Fin formula : dorsal VII – VIII / 15, anal VI / 16–18.
distribution
The blackspot sunfish is widespread in the eastern and central United States. Since the species has been released by humans in numerous bodies of water, the original range is not entirely certain. It probably stretched from Virginia to Florida to Texas and also included the Mississippi and Saint Lawrence River basins and the North American Great Lakes . Today the species is also found in numerous lakes in the western United States and Canada. It was introduced there by humans as it is very popular with anglers.
Way of life
The blackspot sunfish live in small groups in lakes, ponds, ponds and in river sections with calm water. They prefer densely overgrown bodies of water with a sandy or muddy bottom and clear water. Young fish feed on water fleas ( Cladocera , Daphnia ) and Cyclops , larger specimens also feed on larger crustaceans, insect larvae, and the young fish of whitefish . Numerous gill rakes also allow the adult animals to feed on small, planktonic crustaceans. The fish hunt mainly at dusk and at night.
Black-spot sunfish spawn from April to June in water temperatures of 14 to 20 ° C. To do this, the males clean an area on the bottom of the water. The females lay their eggs in this “nest”, where they are guarded by the male for a period of around five days until the young fish hatch. The very fertile females produce around 10,000 to 200,000 eggs during a spawning period and spawn in the “nests” of several males. Black-spotted sunfish become sexually mature at two years of age and can live to be around seven years old.
literature
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 , p. 662.
Web links
- Pomoxis nigromaculatus on Fishbase.org (English)
- R. Adams: Pomoxis nigromaculatus . , Animal Diversity Web, 2000.