Pond perch, Common sunfish, Punkie, Sunfish, Sunny, Kivver
The pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus Lepomis (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchidae (sunfishes, crappies and black basses) in the order Perciformes.
Lepomis, in Greek, means 'scaled gill cover' and gibbosus means 'humped'. The defining characteristic of a pumpkinseed sunfish is the bright red spot at the tip of the ear flap. The pumpkinseed sunfish is widely recognized by its shape of a pumpkin seed, from which its common name comes.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withPumpkinseeds have a small body that is shaped much like a pumpkin seed (thus the common name), typically about 10 cm (4 in) in length, but can grow up to 28 cm (11 in). They typically weigh less than 1 pound (450 g), with the world record being 1 pound 8 ounces (680 g) caught by Robert Warne while fishing Honeoye Lake in Upstate New York. They are orange, green, yellow or blue in color, with speckles over their sides and back and a yellow-orange breast and belly, and the coloration of the ctenoid scales of the pumpkinseed is one of the most vibrant of any freshwater fish and can range from an olive-green or brown to bright orange and blue. The sides are covered with vertical bars that are a faint green or blue, which are typically more prevalent in female pumpkinseeds. Orange spots may cover the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins and the cheeks have blue lines across them. The pumpkinseed is noted for the orange-red spot on the margin of its black gill cover. The pectoral fins of a pumpkinseed can be amber or clear, while the dorsal spines are black. They have a small mouth with an upper jaw stopping right under the eye.
Pumpkinseeds are very similar to the larger bluegill, and are often found in the same habitats. One difference between the two species is their opercular flap, which is black in both species but the pumpkinseed has a crimson spot in the shape of a half moon on the back portion. Pumpkinseeds have seven or eight vertical, irregular bands on their sides that are duller in color compared to the bluegill.
The pumpkinseed's natural range in North America is from New Brunswick down the east coast to South Carolina. It then runs inland to the middle of North America, and extends through Iowa and back through Pennsylvania.Pumpkinseed sunfish have however been introduced throughout most of North America. They can now be found from Washington and Oregon on the Pacific Coast to Georgia on the Atlantic Coast. Yet they are primarily found in the northeastern United States and more rarely in the south-central or southwestern region of the continent.
In Europe, the pumpkinseed is considered an invasive species. They were introduced to European waters, and could outcompete native fish. This species is included since 2019 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). It cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.
Pumpkinseeds typically live in warm, calm lakes, ponds, and pools of creeks and small rivers with plenty of vegetation. They prefer clear water where they can find shelter to hide. They tend to stay near the shore and can be found in numbers within shallow and protected areas. They will feed at all water levels from the surface to the bottom in the daylight, and their heaviest feeding will be in the afternoon. Pumpkinseed sunfish usually travel together in schools that can also include bluegills and other sunfish.
Pumpkinseeds are more tolerant of low oxygen levels than bluegills are, but less tolerant of warm water. Groups of young fish school close to shore, but adults tend to travel in groups of two to four in slightly deeper yet still covered waters. Pumpkinseeds are active throughout the day, but they rest at night near the bottom or in shelter areas in rocks or near submerged logs.
Pumpkinseeds are carnivorous and feed on a variety of small prey both at the water surface and at the bottom. Among their favorites are insects, small molluscs and crustaceans (such as small crawfish), worms, minnow fry, small frogs or tadpoles, and even cannibalizing other smaller pumpkinseeds. They are effective at destroying mosquito larvae and even occasionally consume small pieces of aquatic vegetation and detritus.
The pumpkinseed sunfish has a terminal mouth, allowing it to open at the anterior end of the snout. Pumpkinseed sunfish that live in waters with larger gastropods have larger mouths and associated jaw muscles to crack the shells.
Once water temperatures reach 55–63 °F (13–17 °C) in the late spring or early summer, the male pumpkinseeds will begin to build nests. Nesting sites are typically in shallow water on sand or gravel lake bottoms. The males will use their caudal fins to sweep out shallow, oval-shaped nesting holes that stretch about twice the length of the pumpkinseed itself. The fish will remove debris and large rocks from their nests with their mouths.
Nests are arranged in colonies consisting of about three to 15 nests each. Often, pumpkinseeds build their nests near bluegill colonies, and the two species interbreed. Male pumpkinseeds are vigorous and aggressive, and defend their nests by spreading their opercula. Because of this aggressive behavior, pumpkinseeds tend to maintain larger territories than bluegills.
Females arrive after the nests are completed, coming in from deeper waters. The male then releases milt and the female releases eggs. Females may spawn in more than one nest, and more than one female may use the same nest. Also, more than one female will spawn with a male in one nest simultaneously. Females are able produce 1,500 to 1,700 eggs, depending on their size and age.
Once released, the eggs stick to gravel, sand, or other debris in the nest, and they hatch in as few as three days. Females leave the nest immediately after spawning, but males remain and guard their offspring. The male guards them for about the first 11 days, returning them to the nest in his mouth if they stray from the nesting site.
The young fish stay on or near the shallow breeding area and grow to about 2 in (5 cm) in their first year. Sexual maturity is usually achieved by age two. Pumpkinseeds have lived to be 12 years old in captivity, but in nature most do not exceed six to eight years old.
The pumpkinseed sunfish is very common and is not listed by CITES. It is considered Least Concern (not threatened) by the IUCN. Spawning grounds of the pumpkinseeds can be disturbed by shoreline development and shoreline erosion from heavy lake use. Their susceptibility to silt and pollution makes the pumpkinseed a good indicator of the cleanliness and health of water.
