{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = Middle Miocene to Recent | image = Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) black background.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=NatureServe |date=2013 |title=''Lepomis microlophus'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T202558A18230237 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202558A18230237.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Lepomis | species = microlophus | authority = (Günther, 1859) | synonyms = ''Pomotis microlophus'' <small>Günther, 1859</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Lepomis|microlophus|month=December|year=2019}}</ref> }}
The '''redear sunfish''' ('''''Lepomis microlophus'''''), also known as the '''shellcracker''', '''Georgia bream''', '''cherry gill''', '''chinquapin''', '''stumpknocker''', and '''sun perch''',<ref name="nas" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Redear sunfish (''Lepomis microlophus'') |website=Midwest Invasive Species Information Network |url=https://learn.misin.msu.edu/webapp/facts/detail/?project=misin&id=350&cname=Redear+sunfish |access-date=January 28, 2026}}</ref> is a freshwater fish in the family Centrarchidae and is native to the southeastern United States. Due to its popularity as a sport fish, it has been widely introduced across North America. thumb|In Ohio thumb|250px|right|Male redear sunfish guarding eggs
==Description== thumb|250px|right|Illustration of the redear sunfish, ''Lepomis microlophus'' Redear sunfish generally resemble bluegill except for coloration and somewhat larger maximum size. The redear sunfish also has faint vertical bars traveling downwards from its dorsal.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bosanko, David|author2= Dan Johnson|name-list-style=and|chapter=Redear Sunfish|title=Fish of Michigan Field Guide|location=Cambridge, MN|publisher=Adventure Publications|year=2007|pages=148–49}}</ref> It is dark-colored dorsally and yellow-green ventrally. Unlike bluegill, the male has a cherry-red edge on its operculum; females have orange coloration in this area. The adult fish are between {{cvt|20|and|24|cm|in}} in length. Max length is {{cvt|43.2|cm|in}}, compared to a maximum of about {{cvt|40|cm|in}} for the bluegill. Redear sunfish on average reach about {{cvt|0.45|kg|lb}}, also larger than the average bluegill.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Redear Sunfish: Species Breakdown |url=https://hookedinfishing.com/freshwater-species/redear-sunfish/ |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=hookedinfishing.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Habitat and range== Redear sunfish are native to the southeastern United States. They range from North Carolina to Florida, west to southern Illinois and Missouri, and south to the Rio Grande drainage in Texas.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gilbert, Carter Rowell|author2=James D. Williams|chapter=Redear Sunfish|title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes: North America|location=New York|editor=Alfred A. Knopf|year=2002|page=347}}</ref> However, this fish has been widely introduced to other locations such as the states of Ohio and Arizona.<ref name="nas">{{cite web |title=Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) - Species Profile |website=USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database |url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=390 |access-date=January 18, 2025}}</ref>
In the wild, redear sunfish inhabit warm, quiet waters of lakes, ponds, streams, and reservoirs. They prefer to be near logs and vegetation, and tend to congregate in groups around these features. This sunfish is also located in many freshwater marsh wetlands.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
==Diet== The favorite food of this sunfish is snails, which it obtains by cracking their shells, hence this feisty gamefish's common name: shellcracker. These fish meander along lakebeds, seeking and cracking open snails and other shelled creatures. VanderKooy ''et al.'' (2000) observed that large ''L. microlophus'' predominantly focus on hard-shelled prey such as ostracods, hydrobiid snails and mussels throughout the entire year. In the same field investigation, it was observed that smaller fish tended to also consume zooplankton, amphipods, chironomid and ceratopongonid larvae and cladocerans, with varied distributions depending on the season.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Trophic Relationships of Three Sunfishes (''Lepomis'' spp.) in an Estuarine Bayou|author=Katherine E. VanderKooy|author2=Chet F. Rakocinski|author3=Richard W. Heard |year=2000|journal=Estuaries|volume=23|issue=5|pages=621-632|url=https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/4086}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/77083|title = ''Lepomis microlophus'' (Redear sunfish) |website=CABI}}</ref> They are also believed to feed on algae, aquatic worms,<ref name="ADW">{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lepomis_microlophus/|title=''Lepomis microlophus'' (Redear sunfish)|website=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref> copepoda,<ref name="ADW" /> midge larvae, ephemeropteran and odonata nymphs, crayfish, small fish, and fish eggs.{{Citation needed|reason=Links were outdated and broken. This info should be available in other listed sources.|date=September 2024}} Redear sunfish have thick pharyngeal teeth which allow them to crunch exoskeletons. They are even capable of opening small clams.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} The specialization of this species for the deep-water, mollusk-feeding niche allows it to be introduced to lakes without the risk of competition with fish that prefer shallower water or surface-feeding. In recent years, the stocking of redear has found new allies due to the fish's ability to eat quagga mussels, a prominent invasive species in many freshwater drainages.<ref>{{cite news | last = Tavares | first = Stephanie | title = Popular sport fish could solve Lake Mead's clam infestation | publisher = Las Vegas Sun | date = 2009-11-09 | url = http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/18/popular-sport-fish-could-solve-lake-meads-clam-inf/ | access-date = 2009-11-20 }}</ref>
==Reproduction== During spawning, males congregate and create nests close together in colonies, and females visit to lay eggs. The redear sunfish may occasionally hybridize with other sunfish species.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sunfish Hybrid ID Walk-Through |url=https://www.koaw.org/hybrid-walkthrough1 |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=Koaw Nature |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Fossil record== The redear sunfish is the first-known species of Centrarchidae based on fossil records, as old as 16.3 million years, dating back to the Middle Miocene.<ref>{{cite web |website=Paleobiology Database |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=83690|title=Family Centrarchidae Cope 1868 (sunfish)}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=November 2025}}
== Relationship with humans == Redear sunfish is a popular panfish among recreational anglers. The IGFA all-tackle world record for the species stands at {{cvt|2.83|kg|lboz}} caught in 2021 from Lake Havasu in Arizona.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sunfish, redear |url=https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Sunfish,%20redear |website=igfa.org |publisher=IGFA |access-date=13 May 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} * Fishing for the Redear Sunfish see https://www.ramblingangler.com/fishing-for-shellcrackers/ * {{FishBase|genus=Lepomis|species=microlophus|year=2005|month=November}} * {{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=Jack |title=The Sunfishes-A Fly Fishing Journey of Discovery |year=1993 |publisher=Abenaki Publishers, Inc. |location=Bennington, VT|isbn=0-936644-17-6 }} *{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=F. Philip |title=America's Favorite Fishing-A Complete Guide to Angling for Panfish |year=1964 |publisher=Harper Row |location=New York }} *{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=F. Philip |title=Panfishing |year=1984 |publisher=Stackpole Books |location=New York |isbn=0-943822-25-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/panfishing00rice }}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2741147}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Lepomis Category:Fish described in 1859 Category:Taxa named by Albert Günther Category:Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States Category:Extant Miocene first appearances Category:Freshwater fish of North America