Bluegill
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Centrarchidae Genus: Lepomis Species: L. macrochirus
Binomial name
Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819

The Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or coppernose. It is a member of the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. It is native to a wide area of North America, from Québec to northern Mexico, and has been widely transplanted to stock game fish for anglers. It is commonly fished in Minnesota, but it is the state fish of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is renowned as an excellent tasting fish on par with Walleye.^{[citation needed]} Download high resolution version (595x610, 94 KB)Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ... Genera  Acantharchus  Ambloplites  Archoplites  Centrarchus  Enneacanthus  Lepomis  Micropterus  Pomoxis Sunfish range The sunfishes are a family (Centrarchidae) of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. ... Species (see text) Lepomis Rafinesque, 1819, is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... C. S. Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (October 22, 1783-September 18, 1840) was a nineteenth-century polymath who led a chaotic life. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... The hierarchy of scientific classification In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. ... Genera  Acantharchus  Ambloplites  Archoplites  Centrarchus  Enneacanthus  Lepomis  Micropterus  Pomoxis Sunfish range The sunfishes are a family (Centrarchidae) of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. ... In scientific classification used in biology, the order (Latin: ordo, plural ordines) is a rank between class and family (termed a taxon at that rank). ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... During the 1960s, a terrorist group known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, robberies and attacks on government offices. ... A Game fish is a fish that is pursued for sport, regardless of whether the fisherman ultimately eats the fish. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Binomial name (Mitchill, 1818) Subspecies S. v. ...

Of typical sunfish body shape, the bluegill's most notable feature is the blue or black "ear", actually an extension of the gill cover called the opercular flap. Its name, however, comes from the bright blue edging visible on its gill rakers. It can be distinguished from similar species by the (not always pronounced) vertical bars along its flanks. The bluegill grows to a maximum overall length of approximately 40 cm (16 in). This article is about the unit of length. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...

Bluegills from Missouri

Bluegills are popular game fish, caught with live bait, flies, hot dogs, raw chicken or other lures, chiefly at dawn and dusk. One of the easiest baits to use for them is white bread or a corn kernel. Another efficient bait would be redworms or waxworms on ice jigs. They are noted for seeking out underwater vegetation for cover; their natural diet consists largely of small invertebrates and very small fish. The Bluegill itself is also occasionally used as bait for larger game fish species such as blue catfish and largemouth bass. The bluegill is a schooling fish with schools of 20–30 individuals. These fish spawn in June in nests in the shallows. During this period males assume a very bold coloration, as they are guarding their nests. An interesting piece of their biology is that some males assume the coloration of the female fish so that the nest guarding males won't show aggression towards them. Then these "sneaker" males enter nests and spawn. Because of their size and the method of cooking them, bluegills are often called panfish. Bluegill are also commonly referred to as bream. Bluegills are excellent fish to teach children angling.[[1]] [[2]] They are notorious for their nibbling or pecking style of feeding and commonly steal bait off a fisherman's hook. They hit hard for their size.(making it easy to tell when the angler has one on the line) Adult channel catfish, largemouth bass, and turtles prey upon bluegill. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 350 × 525 pixelsFull resolution (350 × 525 pixel, file size: 223 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Stringer of bluegills taken from Bilby Ranch Lake in Missouri. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 350 × 525 pixelsFull resolution (350 × 525 pixel, file size: 223 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Stringer of bluegills taken from Bilby Ranch Lake in Missouri. ... A Game fish is a fish that is pursued for sport, regardless of whether the fisherman ultimately eats the fish. ... Fly rod and reel with a wild brown trout from a chalk stream. ... Invertebrate is a term coined by Chevalier de Lamarck to describe any animal without a backbone or vertebra, like insects, squids and worms. ... Binomial name Ictalurus furcatus (Lesueur, 1840) The blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) is one of the largest species of North American catfish. ... Binomial name The Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a species of fish. ... For the song by Girls Aloud see Biology (song) Biology studies the variety of life (clockwise from top-left) E. coli, tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology (from Greek: βίος, bio, life; and λόγος, logos, speech lit. ... In the US, Panfish are fish that are small enough to fit whole into a skillet for cooking. ... Bream caught in the Volga River near Kashin, Russia. ... Angling is a method of fishing, specifically the practice of catching fish by means of an angle (hook). ... Binomial name (Rafinesque, 1818) Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, are North Americas most numerous catfish species. ...

In some locations where it has been transplanted, it is considered a pest: trade in the species is prohibited in Germany and Japan.

The specific epithet, macrochirus, derives from the Greek μακρός (long) and χείρ (hand).

References

• FishBase: Lepomis macrochirus
• ITIS: Lepomis macrochirus
• Parr, Cyndy Sims. Lepomis macrochirus: Information. Animal Diversity Web. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, 2002.
• Fish anatomy
• Maryann Mott. 'Bluegill Fish Monitor Water Supplies for Terrorist Attacks, Contamination
• Ellis, Jack (1993). The Sunfishes-A Fly Fishing Journey of Discovery. Bennington, VT: Abenaki Publishers, Inc.. ISBN 0-936644-17-6. 

• Rice, F. Philip (1964). America's Favorite Fishing-A Complete Guide to Angling for Panfish. New York: Harper Row. 

• Rice, F. Philip (1984). Panfishing. New York: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-943822-25-4. 

• Malo, John (1981). Fly-Fishing for Panfish. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Dillon Press Inc.. ISBN 0875182089. 

Lepomis macrochirus FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ... Please note that the ITIS system URL has changed (25 September 2006). ... Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs light more than air does. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 796 × 459 pixelsFull resolution (796 × 459 pixel, file size: 15 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo by David Stang. ...