Bluebarred Pygmy Sunfish

Elassoma okatie

Elassomatidae · freshwater water fish

2 minute read · Species guide

Bluebarred Pygmy Sunfish field guide illustration

About Bluebarred Pygmy Sunfish

The bluebarred pygmy sunfish, Elassoma okatie, is a species of pygmy sunfish endemic to South Carolina, United States. It prefers waters with dense vegetation growth in the Edisto and Savannah River drainages. This species can reach 3.4 cm (1.3 in) in total length.

Diet and feeding

The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: invertebrates or larval fish. These are broad categories, not a claim that every individual consumes every example in a category.

Reported feeding positions include bottom feeding and surface or water-column feeding. The compilation combines published observations; diets can vary with age, locality, and available food.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include streams and small rivers, creeks, still-water habitats.

The source records associations with muck, clay or silt, sand, bedrock, vegetation. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1 years. Its maturity field summarizes mean, median, or modal estimates, usually for females; male estimates can be used when female data are unavailable. It is not a fixed age at which every fish first breeds.

Recorded spawning months are Feb, Mar for the source’s reporting region (GA). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

The reproductive-guild classification includes guarding eggs or young at a spawning substrate or nest.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 3 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Recorded longevity in the compilation is 1.5 years. Wild observations were preferred, but captive records were accepted where wild records were unavailable, and unspecified records were assumed wild. The value is not a guaranteed wild lifespan or an aquarium life expectancy.

Range

Where it lives

Share of 37 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 states.
0%
94.6%
Share of 37 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 states.

Share of records by state

Habitat

Water and movement

Water
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Migration
Not migratory

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Superclass
Actinopterygii
Class
Teleostei
Order
Perciformes
Genus
Elassoma
Species
Elassoma okatie
ITIS TSN
168173
WoRMS AphiaID
1011682
GBIF key
2380532

Common questions about Bluebarred Pygmy Sunfish

What is the scientific name of Bluebarred Pygmy Sunfish?
The scientific name is Elassoma okatie, in the family Elassomatidae. Classification follows ITIS.
Does Bluebarred Pygmy Sunfish live in fresh water or salt water?
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Where has Bluebarred Pygmy Sunfish been recorded in the United States?
GBIF has observations in 2 states, with the most records in South Carolina, Georgia. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives

Other Elassoma species

Same family

More Elassomatidae