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Home/Species/ Green Sunfish

Lepomis cyanellus

Rafinesque, 1819

Green Sunfish

G5Secure Found in 52 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103917
Element CodeAFCQB11020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCentrarchiformes
FamilyCentrarchidae
GenusLepomis
Other Common Names
Crapet vert (FR)
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Reported to hybridize with LEPOMIS GULOSUS, L. MACROCHIRUS, and L. MEGALOTIS. Though the gender of the name LEPOMIS is feminine (see Bailey and Robins, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl. 45(2):100), the 1991 AFS checklist (Robins et al. 1991) retained the masculine ending for CYANELLUS and other species, pending a vote by the ICZN on a petition (by Etnier and Warren) to treat LEPOMIS as masculine for nomenclatural purposes.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-05-10
Change Date1996-09-23
Range Extent Comments
Native to most of central and eastern U.S. west of Appalachians, east of Continental Divide, from Great Lakes region (including Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and Mississippi River basins) south to Gulf Coast states and northeastern Mexico (Gulf Slope drainages from Escambia River, Florida, and Mobile Bay, Georgia and Alabama, to Rio Grande, Texas; introduced widely elsewhere in U.S. and in Germany. Generally common to abundant.
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of subpopulations and locations.
Threat Impact Comments
Localized threats may exist, but on a range-wide scale no major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Sluggish warm streams, ponds, and shallow weedy margins of lakes. Usually in vicinity of weed beds. Tolerates both clear and turbid water. Characteristic of, and one the last survivors in, residual pools in intermittent streams in Great Plains region. Eggs are deposited in a single or colonial nest made by the male, often on fine gravel or sandy silt near cover in shallow water 4-355 cm deep (Moyle 1976, Sublette et al. 1990).

Ecology

Relatively sedentary; may return to same home range in successive years (Becker 1983).

Reproduction

Spawns in spring and summer; eggs hatch in about 2 days; male generally guards nest for about 5-7 days; usually sexually mature at beginning of 3rd year; may nest in colony or singly (Moyle 1976, Becker 1983).
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
North DakotaSNRYes
MontanaSNANo
VirginiaS5Yes
ArizonaSNANo
MichiganS5Yes
South CarolinaSNANo
DelawareSNANo
NebraskaS5Yes
North CarolinaSNANo
New JerseySNANo
New YorkS3Yes
TennesseeS5Yes
MaineSNRYes
AlabamaS5Yes
IowaS5Yes
ConnecticutSNANo
MarylandSNAYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
FloridaSNRYes
NevadaSNANo
MinnesotaSNRYes
MassachusettsSNANo
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
KentuckyS4Yes
TexasS5Yes
ArkansasS4Yes
IndianaS5Yes
OhioS5Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
ColoradoS5Yes
LouisianaS5Yes
South DakotaS5Yes
KansasS5Yes
CaliforniaSNANo
MissouriSNRYes
IllinoisS5Yes
OregonSNANo
WashingtonSNANo
District of ColumbiaSNANo
UtahSNANo
MississippiS5Yes
WisconsinS5Yes
IdahoSNANo
WyomingSNANo
Navajo NationSNANo
New MexicoSNANo
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecSNANo
OntarioS4Yes
Roadless Areas (52)
Arizona (3)
AreaForestAcres
Black CrossTonto National Forest5,966
Padre CanyonCoconino National Forest9,431
SalomeTonto National Forest2,932
Arkansas (4)
AreaForestAcres
East ForkOzark-St. Francis National Forest13,037
Gee CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,957
Indian CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,855
PenhookOzark-St. Francis National Forest6,566
California (17)
AreaForestAcres
AgnewSequoia National Forest9,561
CamuesaLos Padres National Forest8,209
ChannellSequoia National Forest45,429
ChicoSequoia National Forest39,836
City CreekSan Bernardino National Forest9,997
Deep CreekSan Bernardino National Forest23,869
Eagle PeakCleveland National Forest6,481
IshiLassen National Forest21,805
JuncalLos Padres National Forest12,289
Kings RiverSierra National Forest52,999
No NameCleveland National Forest4,897
North Fork American RiverTahoe National Forest38,495
PattisonShasta-Trinity National Forest29,299
Pleasant ViewAngeles National Forest26,395
RubiconEldorado National Forest4,872
Salt SpringsEldorado National Forest133
San Gabriel AddAngeles National Forest2,527
Mississippi (1)
AreaForestAcres
Sandy Creek Rare Ii AreaHomochitto National Forest2,620
New Mexico (3)
AreaForestAcres
Candian RiverCibola National Forest7,149
Eagle PeakGila National Forest34,016
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Dobson KnobPisgah National Forest6,111
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
HomesteadWallowa-Whitman National Forest5,817
Utah (10)
AreaForestAcres
418025Uinta National Forest32,698
418029Uinta National Forest15,673
Burch CreekWasatch-Cache National Forest6,938
CottonwoodDixie National Forest6,754
Lewis PeakWasatch-Cache National Forest11,616
Moody WashDixie National Forest31,835
North FrancisWasatch-Cache National Forest8,148
Rock CanyonDixie National Forest16,457
South FrancisWasatch-Cache National Forest3,374
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
Virginia (9)
AreaForestAcres
Brush MountainJefferson National Forest6,002
Brush Mountain EastJefferson National Forest4,916
Gum RunGeorge Washington National Forest12,620
Kelley MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,590
Little Walker MountainJefferson National Forest9,818
Oak KnobGeorge Washington National Forest10,882
Peters Mountain Addition A (VA)Jefferson National Forest1,268
SkidmoreGeorge Washington National Forest5,641
Southern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest11,985
Washington (1)
AreaForestAcres
South HuckleberryColville National Forest10,117
West Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Dry River (WV)George Washington National Forest7,331
Peters Mountain Addition A (WV)Jefferson National Forest343
References (35)
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  6. Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. xiv + 681 pp.
  7. Fago, D. 2000. Relative abundance and distribution of fishes in Wisconsin. Fish Distribution Database to year 2000. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
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