---
title: "Plains Longear Sunfish"
description: "Lepomis aquilensis — Peixes. The longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, of order Centrarchiformes."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/plains-longear-sunfish
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Plains Longear Sunfish

> Lepomis aquilensis — Peixes. The longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, of order Centrarchiformes.

- Scientific name: *Lepomis aquilensis*
- Category: `fish` (Peixes)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lagos e rios)
- iNaturalist observations: 5733
- iNaturalist taxon: [1364008](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1364008)

## Names

- en: Plains Longear Sunfish

## Countries with the most observations

US (5513), MX (51)

## Summary

The longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, of order Centrarchiformes. It is native to the area of eastern North America stretching from the Great Lakes down to northeastern Mexico. The longear sunfish reaches a maximum recorded length of about 24 cm (9.4 in), with a maximum recorded weight of 790 g (1.74 lb). Most do not live beyond six years. The longear sunfish is quite colorful, with an olive to rusty-brown back, bright orange belly and vermiculate blue-green bars on the sides of its head, the latter two features most pronounced in breeding males. A unique…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longear_sunfish

## Photo

![Plains Longear Sunfish](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/plains-longear-sunfish/medium.jpg)

Photo: G Key · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/45592508

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/plains-longear-sunfish?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).