Northern sunfish

Appearance

The northern sunfish and the longear sunfish contain very few physical variations. Both are generally small, vibrantly scaled fish with bright, elongated opercular flaps which give the fish an appearance of an ear. This "ear" is a key factor in differentiating the two fish. ''Lepomis peltastes'' opercular flaps tend to have an outline of white and red, while ''Lepomis megalotis'' outlines are strictly white. Although each species coloration is nearly identical, the patterns which form from these colors are not. The northern sunfish tends to have more of a lateral stripe and speckled turquoise pattern along its sides, while the longear sunfish tends to have spotting on its sides, still in turquoise. Each fish also has "war paint" all the way from the mouth to the edge of the gill flap in the same color as the speckles or spots. Both also contain olive sides and bright orange bellies. These few differences between ''Lepomis peltastes'' and ''Lepomis megalotis'' leave these fish incredibly hard to distinguish from one another. In all other aspects, these fish look near identical.

The northern sunfish is usually regarded as a subspecies of the longear sunfish due to little and/or improper justification as to why this fish should be elevated as a separate species. The assertion, brought about by Carl Leavitt Hubbs over three decades ago, has yet to be clarified with ichthyologists.

Status

''Lepomis peltastes'' is listed as threatened by the state of Wisconsin. This is the only state with a formal recognition of this status condition. High water turbidity, agricultural runoff and pollution could be factors in this. Minnesota evaluated the fish's spotty distribution in their streams, and reported that ''Lepomis peltastes'' was dependent on incredibly specific water conditions.Ceas, Patrick, and Jean Porterfield. "Minnesota State Wildlife Grants Program." Life Histories of the Northern Longear Sunfish and Pugnose Shiner in Minnesota, with Examinations of Other Rare Non-game Fishes : 1+. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota State DNR, 2012. Web. 5 May 2015. ] A push to list the species as special concern has risen from Minnesota's findings.

Habitat

The northern sunfish inhabits the uppermost portions of the United States, such as the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes Region, as well as the Hudson Bay, Mississippi River, and portions of Ontario. This fish is found in generally small, quiet, temperate streams or rivers with sandy banks or rocky bottoms. Northern sunfish prefer to be near vegetation where they can avoid strong currents.

Food

Northern sunfish mostly dine on insects and other invertebrates found in or near the water. They have been known to prey on mites, microcrustaceans, fish eggs, mollusks, filamentous algae, and small fish. ''Lepomis peltastes'' is well known for feeding at the water's surface more frequently than other sunfish.