Category:Bluegill

BLUEGILL
Name:									Average length: 6-9  inches			Kingdom:	Animalia					Maximum length:  16 inches (40 cm) Phylum:	Chordata					Average weight: Class:		Actinopterygii Order:		Perciformes					World record: 4lbs. 12 oz.	Family:	Centrarchidae					Life span: 5-6 years Genus:		Lepomis (Greek for “scaled gill cover”) Species:	L. machrochirus (Greek for “large hand”)

Binomial name: Lepomis machrochirus

Other names it goes by: bream, brim, coppernose, perch, sunfish, sunperch

Where they live:They can be found throughout North America, from a sfar north a s Quebec and as far south as northern Mexico. They are found in many lakes, overflow ponds, pools, swamps, oxbows, and man-made tanks and impoundments.

It is the State fish of Illinois.

What they eat: Bluegills are carnivorous and eat smaller fish, snails, crayfish, aquatic insects and their larvae in the wild. But they also go after live bait of worms and flies, and table scraps of hot dogs and bologna. They also eat algae if food is scarce.

How it can be identified: -sides are olive to yellow color with vertical stripes -a distinctive black spot behind the gills ( the opercular flap, which is an extension of the gill 	 	 cover) -bright blue edging on gill rakers (the reason it is called “bluegill”) -the dorsal fin has 9-11 spines -the spiny dorsal fin is broadly connected to the soft dorsal fin in the rear of the fish -the anal fin has 3 spines -bask and upper sides vary in color beginning with dark olive green blending to brown, copper, 	 	 red, lavender, and orange on the sides -the color of the belly can range from yellow to orange to reddish-orange

Life cycle: -nests are built by males in summer in water 1-2 feet on gravelly, muddy, or sandy bottoms -males guard the nest during hatching and until small fry leave the nest -males guarding nests become boldly colored with deep red hues -”sneaker” males imitate females colors so that guard males will not be aggressive toward them -small fry feed on zooplankton and algae at first -small fry progress to eating aquatic insects and their larvae, especially midge larvae (a very 	 	small worm in the larva stage that can live in just a drop of water) -adult bluegill also eat smaller fish and plants -bluegills are known to eat bread, hot dogs, bologna, corn, and other foods people eat -bluegills are considered adults somewhere between 2-4 years old