Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Teleostei |
| Order | Centrarchiformes |
| Family | Centrarchidae |
| Genus | Lepomis |
| Species | Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Stygoxene
- Realm
- Aquatic
Distribution
Range
Known from seven counties across three states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Florida, Kentucky
Counties
- Alabama
- Jackson, Marshall, Morgan
- Florida
- Jackson
- Kentucky
- Barren, Breckinridge, Edmonson
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
LC Least Concern
Assessed in 2019.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- Canada
- N5 Secure
- United States
- N5 Secure
Subnational ranks
- Saskatchewan
- SNA Not Applicable
- Quebec
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Ontario
- S5 Secure
- British Columbia
- SNA Not Applicable
- Manitoba
- S3 Vulnerable
- Tennessee
- S5 Secure
- Idaho
- SNA Not Applicable
- Montana
- SNA Not Applicable
- Florida
- S5 Secure
- Ohio
- S5 Secure
- Oklahoma
- SNR Unranked
- South Carolina
- S5 Secure
- Alabama
- S5 Secure
- Oregon
- SNA Not Applicable
- Michigan
- S5 Secure
- California
- SNA Not Applicable
- Wyoming
- SNA Not Applicable
- New Mexico
- SNA Not Applicable
- Connecticut
- SNA Not Applicable
- Maryland
- SNA Not Applicable
- Mississippi
- S5 Secure
- North Dakota
- SNR Unranked
- Delaware
- SNA Not Applicable
- Navajo Nation
- SNA Not Applicable
- Colorado
- SNA Not Applicable
- Rhode Island
- SNA Not Applicable
- New Jersey
- SNA Not Applicable
- Massachusetts
- SNA Not Applicable
- Indiana
- S5 Secure
- Nebraska
- S5 Secure
- Illinois
- S5 Secure
- South Dakota
- S5 Secure
- New York
- S5 Secure
- West Virginia
- S5 Secure
- Georgia
- S5 Secure
- Kansas
- S5 Secure
- Washington
- SNA Not Applicable
- New Hampshire
- SNA Not Applicable
- District of Columbia
- SNA Not Applicable
- Texas
- S5 Secure
- Pennsylvania
- S5 Secure
- Vermont
- S5 Secure
- Nevada
- SNA Not Applicable
- Utah
- SNA Not Applicable
- Minnesota
- SNR Unranked
- Virginia
- S5 Secure
- Iowa
- S5 Secure
- Kentucky
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Missouri
- SNR Unranked
- Arizona
- SNA Not Applicable
- Arkansas
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Wisconsin
- S5 Secure
- North Carolina
- S5 Secure
- Louisiana
- S5 Secure
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Armstrong, J.G. & Williams, J.D. 1971. Cave and spring fishes of the southern bend of the Tennessee River. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 46: 107–115.
- Franz, R., Bauer, J. & Morris, T. 1994. Review of biologically significant caves and their faunas in Florida and south Georgia. Brimleyana 20: 1–109. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/229726.
- Hobbs, III., H.H. 1994. Assessment of the ecological resources of the caves of Russell Cave National Monument, Jackson County, Alabama and of selected caves at the Lookout Mountain Unit of Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park, Dade County, Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee. 200 pp.
- McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
- McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
- Niemiller, M.L., Anderson, C.L., Maxwell, E.C., Midgette, H., Quering, C., Richards, M., Wilson, K. & Wirwa, N. 2025. A noteworthy range extension of the federally endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) south of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist 24: N47-N58. doi:10.1656/058.024.0403
- Pearson, W.D. & Boston, C.H., Jr. 1995. Distribution and status of the northern cavefish, Amblyopsis spelaea. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program,, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. 99 pp.
- Poulson, T.L. 1961. Cave adaptation in amblyopsid cavefishes. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. 185 pp. doi:10.7302/9847
- Walsh, S.J. 2001. Freshwater macrofauna of Florida karst habitats. Proceedings of the 2001 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group, USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 01–4011: 78–88. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_talks/101/.
How to cite this account
Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2570. https://cavebiology.org/species/lepomis-macrochirus/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.