By Koaw - November, 2024 (Beta version)
GENERAL: This species has recently been re-elevated to species status. I expect that sometime in 2025 I will have enough photos and video of proper specimens to complete this page.
SIZE: To 24.0 cm (9.5 in) (Page & Burr, 2011).
GILL RAKERS: The gill rakers on the first gill arch are very short and thick. These are easily seen by lifting the gill cover and looking at the white portion above the red filaments on the gill arch closest to the gill cover.
I made a video describing how to locate and find these rakers that is hosted on Koaw Nature’s Fishing Smarts YouTube channel.
Keep in mind that this map is not complete and represents an approximation of the most apparent genetic admixing within the Longear Sunfish Complex while excluding most all Longear/Northern admixed populations.
LONGEAR-PLAINS LONGER & LONGEAR-GULF LONGEAR ADMIXED POPULATIONS: The range overlap regions of Longear-Plains Longear/Longear-Gulf Longear will, with high certainty, yield introgressed/hybridized specimens because of past secondary contact where gene swapping occurred and/or more recent hybridization events. The range overlap region provided is approximate, not exact. The full extent of the genetically admixed ranged has not been completely investigated (nor do I image it will be due to how expensive that would be.)
The anomalous MPA point in the central range exists in Clover Creek near Medon, TN and represents a genetic admixture of primarily Plains Longear and Northern, with some Longear. The northeast MS points represent populations that are strongly admixed by both Longear and Gulf Longear. In the western range, it appears that many Longear and Plains Longear populations exist together with limited gene swapping, although some populations exhibit strong admixture within the Arkansas-White-Red River Drainage, such as within Lukfata Creek, OK (Kim et al., 2022).