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2 new fish, pumpkinseed and hybrid?

Started by Guest_fishtanker_* , Jun 25 2007 08:16 PM

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15 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_fishtanker_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 08:16 PM

Ok, first pic is a fish from a resevoir close to me. There were similar fish except with red visible on the tail fin from above, this guy looks like a bluegill from the top, but a longear from the side.

The second guy I'm pretty sure is a pumpkinseed, but it may be a redear, never caught either before. Any opinions?

Thanks again, have fun IDing!

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100_2362.JPG 420.12KB 6 downloads
100_2361.JPG 379KB 5 downloads

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#2 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 08:27 PM

OK, I'll go first... the first fish is a bluegill and the second is certainly a pumpkinseed. I don't know where you're from, of course (Ed Bihary will advise you to list your location, and he's right) but bluegills are ubiquitous and pumpkinseeds are northern (periglacial to use the formal description).

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#3 Guest_fishtanker_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 08:49 PM

I have a few bluegill and I'm sure it's not one of those, I think it may be a hybrid with a bluegill because it has the nice blue outline around the fins, but it does not have blue gill rakes or the black dot on the dorsal. His earflap is also very long. I am pretty new, so you are probably right, but thats some additional info I failed to post at first. I am in southeastern VA, pumkinseed is listed on my dept of game and inland fisheries site.

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#4 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 09:09 PM

May need a better picture, but I'd call it a redbreast sunfish, Lepomis auritus. And I'll third the pumpkinseed.

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#5 Guest_eLeMeNt_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 09:17 PM

The first fish is definitely a red-breast. The second fish is most likely a pumpkinseed. Pumpkinseeds will have mottling in their soft dorsal fin, while red-ears lack this mottling. The body shape of the fish in the picture looks more like a pumpkinseed than a red-ear.

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#6 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 09:22 PM

I went back and enlarged the first photo, saw detail come out of the gloom, leading me to change my vote to redbreast. The second one is still straight-ahead pumpkinseed.

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#7 Guest_fishtanker_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 09:30 PM

two new pics of the fish in question, brighter lighting.

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100_2364.JPG 359.1KB 0 downloads

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#8 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 25 June 2007 - 09:38 PM

Yup, redbreast sunfish. That's odd, you caught it in a reservoir?

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#9 Guest_fishtanker_*

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Posted 26 June 2007 - 02:26 PM

Out here pretty much every public body of water is a resevoir. Thanks for the help, looks like I am still looking for a longear.

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#10 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 26 June 2007 - 02:43 PM

Out here pretty much every public body of water is a resevoir. Thanks for the help, looks like I am still looking for a longear.

You're not going to find them where you are at. At least I should say, you shouldn't find them where you are at. We have one known location of them here in northern VA/MD.

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#11 Guest_Bob_*

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Posted 27 June 2007 - 10:28 AM

The second fish is definitely a redbreast. The first fish, I'm not so sure about. Check the gill cover and the opercular flap. It doesn't quite match up with this image from Virginia Tech (http://www.cnr.vt.ed...es/pumpkin.html).

I'm thinking it's a hybrid between a pumpkinseed and something else. (I'm not sure what.)

You're not going to find them where you are at. At least I should say, you shouldn't find them where you are at. We have one known location of them here in northern VA/MD.

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#12 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 27 June 2007 - 06:29 PM

I'm thinking it's a hybrid between a pumpkinseed and something else. (I'm not sure what.)

Bob!!

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#13 Guest_Bob_*

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Posted 28 June 2007 - 01:27 PM

Martin! ???

Bob!!

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#14 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 28 June 2007 - 09:15 PM

I forgot, you haven't used the forum much. Well, you'll understand in time :twisted:

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#15 Guest_dmarkley_*

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Posted 02 July 2007 - 02:19 PM

I forgot, you haven't used the forum much. Well, you'll understand in time

LOL, it seems that every time a sunfish ID is difficult, someone says HYBRID! Now, can someone out there give a definitive answer as to how common/likely a HYBRID really is? I am thinking that under natural environmental conditions, hybrids would be somewhere between zero and none. Otherwise, there'd be no pure species left.

Just my $2 worth.

Dean