4()2 Roosevelt Wild Life Annals 



Eupomotis gibbosus (Linnaeus). Ccimiiox Sunfish. The Cimimon Sun- 

 fish is very abundant in Oneida Lake, where suitable conditions for it are extensive. 

 Large individuals, sometimes nearly a foot in length, appear to be abundant in 

 deep water and are sought by anglers who prize them for their beauty as well 

 as for their palatability as table fish. 



Life History and Breeding Habits. Like our other sunfishes, this one is a 

 nest builder. The nest is typical of the other sunfish nests in being a more or 

 less circular bottom depression, made by a fanning movement of the tail ; and 

 objects too large or heavy to be removed by this method are pulled away by means 

 of the mouth (Leathers, 'ii, p. 252). The nests are usually as nearly circular as 

 bottom features will permit and in diameter are commonly about twice the length 

 of the fish. A gravid female is brought to the nest by the male, and in the 

 spawning act the two fish apply their ventral surfaces and move about in a circle, 

 the eggs and sperm exuding. Leathers (I.e., p. 253) counted eleven circuits a 

 minute made by spawning individuals, and found that the male remains upright, 

 the female horizontal. Clouds of sperms intermixed with eggs could be seen 

 emitted at intervals, and at such times the female would make quick tail mo\enients, 

 thmwing herself into an upright position. 



Reighard ('02, p. 575) notes that the male is brighter colored than the female, 

 with brighter vermicular cheek markings, and with black ventral fins while those 

 of the female are yellow ; and the dorsal and caudal fins in the male a more 

 brilliant blue. He also noted that the opercular flap in the male is larger. In 

 many observations made on spawning Common Sunfish. Hankinson found the 

 female usually smaller and decidedly lighter in color and less brilliant, resembling 

 the immature rather than the adult male. Apparently it is only the male that 

 constructs and attends the nest (Reighard, '02, p. 575; Bean, '03, p. 485). He 

 guards the eggs against other fishes and other intruders. His boldness at this time 

 is well known, and he goes so far as to bite hands and fingers if held near the nest. 

 The spreading of the gill-covers and the displaying of colors appear to be instru- 

 mental in driving away intruders (Reighard, '02, p. 575) as well as in attracting 

 the female. It has been generally assumed that this sunfish and others guard 

 only the eggs and not the young. In this connection the observations of Evermann 

 and Clark ('20, Vol. i, p. 408) are of interest, with regard to a nest of Common 

 Sunfish found July 7, 1901 : "The yoimg were quite minute, transparent dbjccts, 

 the eyes being the most conspicuous part of them. They hugged the bottom quite 

 closely, but were pretty active. Now and then one of them appeared to take a 

 notion to leave the nest, and would swim up toward the surface. Quick as a 

 flash the parent fish would snap it up, and it appeared at first glance as if it were 

 devouring its young, but it was soon discovered that each time it had taken in ;i 

 young fi.sh it immediately went down to the bottom of the nest, head dciwnwaril. 

 and spat the young out into the nest near the ground." The eggs adhere td Ixittdin 

 objects such as .soil particles, small stones, roots and sticks. 



We made no active search for nests of this sunfish at Oneida Lake, allhough 

 had this been ddnc many could undoubtedly have been fnund. At JCast Putter 

 Bay on June jS, i>)i(>. we saw several cleaned areas on the sandy bottom in a 



