Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Was trying to think of something to post on my blog this Friday. I usually try to go something light, maybe humorous, maybe stupid (depends on your opinion, Ha), to end the week.
This week I decided to go a different direction. Oftentimes you can develop a deeper appreciation for something by taking time and looking at it closely, maybe closer than you have ever done before. For example, Nebraska has a lot of different species of fish, and each one is unique and interesting in their own right. You just have to look.
Did you know you could identify each of Nebraska’s sunfish species simply by looking at their gill cover? I am talking just about Lepomid sunfish, bluegills, redears, etc., not the broader sunfish family (i.e. Centrarchids) which would also include crappies and black bass.
If I have not lost you in the pointy-headed terminology yet, how about a little quiz? Five photos of the gill covers of Nebraska sunfish, see if you know them?
Number 1
Number 2
Number 3
Number 4
Number 5
Now these sunfish species can hybridize, but to keep it simple, I did NOT include any hybrids in this little quiz.
See if you know which sunfish species each of those were. Or, better yet, it is the weekend, just GO FISH!
If you gotta know, bluegill, orangespotted, redear, pumpkinseed and green.