Common Sunfishes 



fins, these sometimes obsolete; cheeks with narrow blue stripes; 

 iris red. 



The green sunfish can be readily told from all other species 

 by the fact that the black opercular spot covers only the bony 

 or hard portion of the opercle. 



Apomotis symmetricus is a pretty and interesting sunfish, not 

 uncommon in the lower Mississippi Valley and Texas, where it 

 is a common pan-fish. 



GENUS LEPOMIS TiAFIhlESQUE 

 Common Sunfishes 



Body oblong or ovate, more or less compressed; mouth small, 

 the jaws about equal; maxillary narrow, supplemental bone re- 

 duced to a mere rudiment or wholly wanting; teeth on vomer 

 and palatines, none on tongue; lower pharyngeals narrow, the 

 teeth spherical or paved, all or nearly all sharp, few or none of 

 them conical; gillrakers mostly short; preopercle entire; opercle 

 ending behind in a convex black flap, which becomes greatly 

 developed with age in some species; branchiostegals 6; scales 

 moderate; one dorsal fin with lo spines; anal with 3; caudal fin 

 emarginate. Colour, brilliant, but evanescent. 



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