redbreast sunfish
Lepomis auritus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
en:Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus). Title: Redbreast sunfish Alternative Title: Lepomis auritus Creator: Raver, Duane Source: WVDR-43-Raver Publisher: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Contributor: NATIONAL CONSERVATION TRAINING CENTER-PUBLICATIONS AND TRAINING MATERIALS Rights: (public domain) Subject: fish, artwork Abstract: Scans of artwork commissioned by the Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1970's. Original art is kept at NCTC museum. Available: June 20 2002 Issued: June 20 2002 Modified: May 10 2004
Duane Raver · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Centrarchiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to the river systems of eastern Canada and the United States. The redbreast sunfish reaches a maximum recorded length of about 30 centimetres (12 in). The species prefers vegetated and rocky pools and lake margins for its habitat. Its diet can include insects, snails, and other small invertebrates. A panfish popular with anglers, the redbreast sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. Redbreast sunfish are usually caught with live bait such as nightcrawlers, crickets, grasshoppers, waxworms, or mealworms. They can also be caught using small lures or flies. Most anglers use light spinning tackle to catch redbreast sunfish. It is popular with fly anglers in the winter because it will more readily strike a moving fly than will bluegills in cooler water. As is typical for the sunfishes, the female redbreast sunfish lays her eggs (about 1000) in a substrate depression built by the male.
Wikipedia contributors, Redbreast sunfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:44:51.550190+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lepomis auritus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- redbreast sunfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Centrarchiformes
- Family
- Centrarchidae
- Genus
- Lepomis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCentrarchiformes
- familyCentrarchidae Bleeker, 1859
- genusLepomis Rafinesque, 1819
- speciesLepomis auritus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lepomis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lepomis gulosus (Cuvier, 1829) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque, 1820) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis miniatus (Jordan, 1877) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis punctatus (Valenciennes, 1831) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis symmetricus Forbes, 1883 | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis lirus McKay, 1881 | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Green SunfishLepomis cyanellus Rafinesque, 1819 | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| pumpkinseedLepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis humilis (Girard, 1858) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| BluegillLepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819 | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis marginatus (Holbrook, 1855) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepomis microlophus (Günther, 1859) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lepomis aurita (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Labrus auritus Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=151291 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3TG2C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.