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NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
Common Name: redspotted sunfish
Identification: Pflieger (1975); Page and Burr (1991); Warren (1992); Etnier and Starnes (1993); recently distinguished from L. punctatus as a separate species (Warren 1992).
Size: 20 cm.
Native Range: Western spotted sunfish are native to the Illinois River in Illinois,
ranging south through the Mississippi River and along the Gulf Coast
from Alabama to Texas (Warren 1992).
Nonindigenous Occurrences: The western spotted sunfish may have been introduced into Round Lake near Columbia City, Indiana (Gerking 1955). Lee et al. (1980 et seq.) mapped a collection from the Red River (Cumberland drainage) in Kentucky, and indicated it was introduced to this location. Also introduced to the Verdigris River and Eufala Lake in eastern Oklahoma (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.); and the Wichita River (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.) and Devils River (Page and Burr 1991) of the Rio Grande drainage, and Red River, Cottle, and Grayson Counties (Red River Authority 2001) in Texas. Cross et al. (1986) listed this species as introduced into the middle Arkansas and Canadian drainages but do not give the states where it has been introduced within these drainages.
Means of Introduction: Unknown; possibly stock contamination.
Status: Established in Indiana; reported in Kentucky.
Impact of Introduction: Unknown.
Remarks: These reports were all made before L. punctatus was split into L. punctatus and L. miniatus. We assumed these collections were of L. miniatus because that is the species native to three of these states, and closest to the fourth (Oklahoma). The report from Oklahoma is somewhat questionable. Burr and Warren (1986) considered the records of introduced populations in the Red River (Cumberland drainage), Kentucky, depicted in Lee et al. (1980 et seq.), to be unsubstantiated and likely erroneous. However, Warren (1992) did map a collection (with specimens he examined) from the Cumberland just over the border in Tennessee. But, Etnier and Starnes (1993) did not include this location in their distribution map for the species in Tennessee. Therefore, whether it does now or has ever occurred in the Cumberland drainage is not clear. It is not clear whether this species is native or introduced in Indiana.
Red River Authority of Texas. 2001. Red and Canadian Basins Fish Inventory: Cottle County. Red River Authority of Texas.
Red River Authority of Texas. 2001. Red and Canadian Basins Fish Inventory: Grayson County. Red River Authority of Texas.
Red River Authority of Texas. 2001. Red and Canadian Basins Fish Inventory: Red River County. Red River Authority of Texas.
Other Resources:
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Pam Fuller
Revision Date: 7/26/2004 Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller. 2009. Lepomis miniatus. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=391> Revision Date: 7/26/2004
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