70 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



The little " sunny " was christened by the 

 greatest naturalist that ever lived, Linnaeus, who 

 in 1758 named it '' gibbosus" owing to the gib- 

 bous outline of its little body. His specimens 

 were from South Carolina. 



It inhabits the Great Lake region, and the 

 Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Florida, and 

 the northern portion of the Mississippi Valley. 

 In outline it is not unlike a pumpkin-seed, hence 

 one of its popular names. This is well expressed 

 in its specific name gibbosus. It has quite a 

 small mouth, but large eye. In coloration it 

 rivals the gayly-tinted fishes of the coral reefs 

 in tropical seas. The predominating colors are 

 yellow and blue, being bluish on the back, paling 

 on the sides to a lighter shade, with yellow 

 blotches and coppery reflections, and belly bright 

 orange-yellow ; the cheeks are yellow with blue 

 streaks; rays of dorsal fin blue, the connecting 

 membrane yellow ; ear-flap black, ending in a 

 scarlet border ; lips blue ; iris of eye scarlet. 



Its habits of spawning, nest-making, and care of 

 eggs and fry are similar to those of the other sun- 

 fishes mentioned. It is partial to clear water, with 

 sandy or gravelly bottom, in the vicinity of weed 

 patches. It feeds on insects and their larvae and 



