Lepomis punctatus (Valenciennes, 1831)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The spotted sunfish (Lepomis punctatus), also known as a stumpknocker, is a member of the freshwater sunfish family Centrarchidae and order Centrarchiformes. The redspotted sunfish, redear sunfish and pumpkinseed sunfish are its closest relatives. Lepomis punctatus is olive-green to brown in color with black to reddish spots at the base of each scale that form rows of dots on the side. The scientific name punctatus refers to this spotted pattern. It was first described in 1831 by Valenciennes. The spotted sunfish is a warmwater native of the Southeastern United States that inhabits areas of slow moving water. It is a benthic insectivore. Spotted sunfish do not commonly exceed 10 cm and a weight of 3 oz. It has some value as a pan fish and is occasionally caught by bream anglers. Spotted sunfish exhibit similar breeding behavior to other sunfishes. A single male guards a nest with multiple females. It is evaluated by the IUCN as a Least concern species and shows little danger of decline or high sensitivity to habitat changes.
Wikipedia contributors, Spotted sunfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:01:30.619484+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lepomis punctatus (Valenciennes, 1831)
- Name authority
- (Valenciennes, 1831)
- 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 punctatus (Valenciennes, 1831)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| redbreast sunfishLepomis auritus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CentrarchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| 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 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 |
|---|---|
| Bryttus punctatus Valenciennes, 1831 Valenciennes, 1831 | synonym |
| Lepomis punctatus punctatus (Valenciennes, 1831) (Valenciennes, 1831) | synonym |
| Sclerotis punctatus (Valenciennes, 1831) (Valenciennes, 1831) | 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=1355509 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:3TG2T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.