Lepomis

Lepomis Temporal range: Middle Miocene to Recent
Redbreast sunfish (L. auritus), the type species of the genus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Centrarchidae
Subfamily:	Lepominae
Genus:	Lepomis Rafinesque, 1819[1]
Type species
Lepomis auritus Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Synonyms[2]
Allotis Hubbs, 1927 Apomotis Rafinesque, 1819 Bryttus Valenciennes, 1831 Chaenobryttus Gill, 1864 Erichaeta Jordan, 1877 Eupomotis Gill & Jordan, 1877 Glossoplites Jordan, 1876 Helioperca Jordan, 1877 Icthelis Rafinesque, 1820 Pomotis Cuvier, 1829 Pomotis Rafinesque, 1819 Sclerotis Hubbs, 1927 Telipomis Rafinesque, 1820 Xenotis Jordan, 1877 Xystroplites Jordan, 1877

Lepomis or true sunfish is a genus of North American freshwater fish from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes (perch-like fish). The generic name Lepomis derives from the Greek λεπίς ("scale") and πῶμα ("cover", "plug", "operculum"). The genus' most recognizable type species is perhaps the bluegill.

Some Lepomis species can grow to a maximum overall length of 41 cm (16 in), though most average around 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in). Many species are sought by anglers as popular panfishes, and large numbers are bred and stocked in lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands. They are widely distributed throughout the freshwater lakes and river tributaries of the United States and Canada, and several species have been translocated and flourished around the world, even becoming pests. Aquarium trade in some Lepomis species is prohibited in Germany for this reason.^[3]

Lepomis species, among others, are sometimes referred to as bream, but the term is also used to refer explicitly to the unrelated European cypriniform fish of genus Abramis.^[4]