Spotted sunfish
(Lepomis punctatus)

The spotted sunfish (Lepomis punctatus) is a member of the freshwater sunfish family Centrarchidae. The redspotted sunfish, redear sunfish and pumpkinseed sunfish are its closest relatives.

Lepomis punctatus is olive-green to brown in color with black to reddish spots at the base of each scale that form rows of dots on the side. The scientific name punctatus refers to this spotted pattern.

The spotted sunfish is a warmwater native of the Southeastern United States that inhabits areas of slow moving water. It is a benthic insectivore.

Spotted sunfish do not commonly exceed 10 cm and a weight of 3 oz. It has some value as a panfish and is occasionally caught by bream anglers. Spotted sunfish exhibit similar breeding behavior to other sunfishes. A single male guards a nest with multiple females.

It is evaluated by the IUCN as a Least concern species and shows little danger of decline or high sensitivity to habitat changes.[5] It has been suggested that it could be used as an indicator species, making it valuable to stream management. The spotted sunfish is a habitat generalist, but prefers complex habitats.[6] It has not been established as an invasive species in other parts of the world.

Originally Lepomis punctatus and Lepomis miniatus were both classified as the same species Lepomis punctatus. Morphological differences and molecular evidence supported a significant difference in the eastern and western species of Lepomis punctatus. The species was divided into subspecies Lepomis punctatus punctatus in the east and Lepomis punctatus miniatus in the west. Later (1992) miniatus was elevated into its own species.

Geographic distribution

The spotted sunfish is a subtropical fish of the Southeastern United States found at latitudes of 41°N - 26°N. It is found in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal drainages from the Cape Fear region in North Carolina to the Apalachicola River system in western Florida. The northernmost extent of its range is southern Tennessee.

It is a warmwater fish and most abundant below the Fall Line. In Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia the spotted sunfish has not faced decline, but is vulnerable to decline in North Carolina. Its vulnerability has not been evaluated in South Carolina or Florida, but there is no evidence that it is threatened there. This range is fairly common to other Lepomis, though others have ranges farther northward or westward. No populations have been recorded outside of the native range. In older literature the range of the spotted sunfish may include that of the redspotted sunfish, which occurs farther westward into Texas and northward up the Mississippi river.