Interesting stuff, we want more.

I'm not seeing the pics posted by smbass in this very interesting thread. All the others I can see. Any idea as to the problem?

Rick

I honestly don't know what happened to them and when they stopped working. The software does maintenance, but it shouldn't have removed valid attachments. Brian, were these links or uploads to the forum?

Here's another thread in the Photo Gallery of pics posted by Brian that seem to have walked away .
http://forum.nanfa.o...?showtopic=1324

I had to clean out some of my attached photos because I had to many and the forum would not allow me to upload any new ones.

I wrote a review on this, I was basically just very frustrated as data were hard to come by...but it was my first review as an undergrad so don't pick at it. I don't know if it will be helpful at all, but if nothing you can get some good sources from it.

I attached the paper in pdf form, I hope you can see it. This is only like my second post, not sure if I uploaded it correctly.

since we are all posting long ear picts

this one came from the Escatawba River, Jackson county, MS

That fish looks very similar to longear sunfish i've caught out of the Blackwater River (Florida panhandle). I've caught dollar sunfish in south Florida and South Carolina and have never seen a dollar sunfish with an opercular flap that long, nor one nearly so colorful. If that fish is in fact a western dollar instead of a longear i'd say there is a greater case for separation between western and eastern dollars then for northern and central longears.

I am in agreement with Matt, I've been a Northern Longear fan for many years. I first became acquainted with them in upstate NY where they are declining, through a lot of lobbying , and some nagging I finally got some in the Albany office interested and one subsequently began a small breeding project there.

Up to that time the last remnant population was in the Tonawanda River Drainage near Buffalo NY and was becoming increasingly polluted. There were 3 small populations also established in farm ponds in Steuben County south of Rochester, NY. I have since heard after moving to MI that the Albany reared fish have been introduced to several locations in their former range.

After moving to MI I found that they are also declining here, especially further north, but not to the extent that they are in NY. From communications with friends in Ohio and Indiana they appear to be more plentiful there. I am expecting to receive some from the Wabash River drainage this winter.

I have bred both L. megalotis and L. megalotis paltastes and find their breeding habits to be for all practical purposes the same. I've bred them in stock tanks and large aquariums.

Its good to see the interest here in the paltastes, they are a great little fish. Little as the biggest I have had was about 6" overal. But very interesting.

Re. to this last picture, I havent seen any Dollars that look like this, its a L.megalotis. Although it doesnt have the color of the central longears from MO,OK and AR.

I know this is an old topic but I was looking for this on the web after getting the new "Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes" by Lawrence M. Page & Brooks M. Burr, & the "Fishes of Indiana - A Field Guide" by Thomas P. Simon.

It looks like they have split the Northern Longear Sunfish (Lepomis peltastes) from the Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis).

Edited by Mike, 12 June 2011 - 10:05 PM.