Lepomis megalotis

History of Spread

Lepomis megalotis (Longear Sunfish) is native to the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes; Hudson Bay (limited) and Mississippi basins; Quebec to MN; south to FL panhandle and south TX; on the Gulf slope from FL to the Rio Grande (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Lee et al. 1980; Page and Burr 1991). This small sunfish has had a few scattered introductions in river systems in 8 states (Lee et al. 1980; Fuller et al. 1999). It may have been introduced as a contaminant with larger fishes, or as a released aquarium fish.

In the Chesapeake basin, Lepomis megalotis has been introduced primarily in the Potomac drainage (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Lee et al. 1976; Lee et al. 1981), but there is at least one record in an upper Bay drainage as well.

Potomac River- Lepomis megalotis was first collected in the Potomac drainage in WV in 1953, and was collected in Coastal Plain nontidal tributaries by 1970-71 (O'Dell et al. 1976). It was widespread in upper Potomac drainage (MD-WV) by 1978 (Stauffer et al. 1978a; Stauffer et al. 1978b). It was caught by Killgore et al. (1989) in tidal fresh water, where it was apparently rare, and was found in Port Tobacco Creek and Wicomico River in tidal and nontidal waters (Lippson et al. 1979); and in nontidal streams at Fort Belvoir VA (Ernst et al.1995).

Upper Bay tributaries- An L. megalotis was collected in nontidal waters of the Gunpowder River system in 1996 (Boward et al. 1997b).

Delaware Estuary- Lepomis megalotis were collected in the Delaware river drainage in Bucks County PA in 1923 (Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 2014), and in the upper, lower and middle regions of the NJ-PA portion of the estuary in 1986 and 1988 (Weisberg et al. 1996).

History References - Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1998; Boward et al. 1997b; Ernst et al. 1995; Fuller et al. 1999; Killgore et al. 1989; Lee et al. 1976; Lee et al. 1980; Lee et al. 1981; Lippson et al. 1979; O'Dell et al. 1976; Page and Burr 1991; Stauffer et al. 1978a; Stauffer et al. 1978b; Weisberg et al. 1996

Invasion Comments