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sunfish
sunfish common name for members of the family Centrachidae, comprising numerous species of spiny-finned, freshwater fishes with deep, laterally flattened bodies found in temperate North America. All members of the family, which includes the black basses (genus Micropterus ) and the crappies (genus Pomoxis ), prefer fertile lakes with firm bottoms and build nests, which the males guard pugnaciously. The sunfishes, or breams, genus Lepomis, are smaller ( 1/4 lb/.14 kg average) members indigenous to E North America but successfully introduced in the West. Common eastern varieties are the rock bass, the bluegill and green sunfishes, and the long-eared and common, or pumpkinseed, sunfishes, brilliantly colored with bright orange bellies. The redear and warmouth sunfishes are found in the Mississippi basin; the spotted sunfish, or stumpknocker, is a denizen of the South. The Sacramento perch is the only native western sunfish. The black basses, the most important and valuable of American freshwater game fishes, are longer bodied and larger (averaging 2–3 lb/.9–1.4 kg); they include the largemouth and smallmouth black basses and the spotted bass. The crappies are the largest sunfishes, attaining a length of 1 ft (2.5 cm) and a weight of 2 lb (.9 kg). There are two species, the white crappie ( P. annularis ) and the black crappie or calico bass ( P. nigro-maculatus ). The pigmy sunfishes, rarely over 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm) long, bear an uncertain relationship to the family and are classed separately. The totally unrelated ocean sunfish, or headfish, Mola mola, of the family Molidae, is allied to the puffer . Sunfishes are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Centrachidae. |
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"sunfish." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sunfish." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sunfish.html "sunfish." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sunfish.html |
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sunfish
sun·fish / ˈsənˌfish/ • n. (pl. same or -fishes) 1. a large deep-bodied marine fish (family Molidae) of warm seas, with tall dorsal and anal fins near the rear of the body and a very short tail. Its several species include the very large ocean sunfish (Mola mola), also known as mola mola. 2. a nest-building freshwater fish native to North America and popular in aquariums. The freshwater sunfish family (Centrarchidae) also includes sport fish such as the black basses, rock bass, bluegill, and crappies. |
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"sunfish." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sunfish." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sunfish.html "sunfish." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sunfish.html |
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sunfish
sunfish North American freshwater fish. A popular angler's fish, similar in appearance to perch, it has a continuous dorsal fin containing spiny and soft rays. The 30 species range in size from the blue-spotted Enneacanthus gloriosus (length: 8.9cm; 3.5in) to the large-mouth bass Micropterus salmoides (length: 81.3cm; 32in; weight: 10kg; 22lb). Family Centrarchidae.
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"sunfish." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sunfish." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-sunfish.html "sunfish." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-sunfish.html |
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sunfish
sunfish See CENTRARCHIDAE; MOLIDAE.
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Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "sunfish." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "sunfish." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-sunfish.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "sunfish." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-sunfish.html |
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