Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus · The bluegill is a North American freshwater fish found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands east of the Rocky Mountains.

Also called Bluegill sunfish.

Bluegill
Photo: Scott Harden, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bluegill
Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain
Bluegill
Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCentrarchiformes
FamilyCentrarchidae
GenusLepomis
SpeciesLepomis macrochirus

Where it lives

Lakes, ponds and slow streams of eastern and central North America.

Fun facts

  • A population of bluegills in Canada's Lake Scugog is so bold that they will even let human observers stroke them.
  • Some male bluegills fool rivals by copying a female's colors and behavior, sneaking between a nesting male and a female to release sperm.
  • Some bluegills are so protective of their nests that, despite their small size, they will even attack snorkelers who come near the edge.
  • A large, healthy female bluegill can produce up to 100,000 eggs.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).