Gulf Coast pygmy sunfish
(Elassoma gilberti)
General data
The Gulf Coast pygmy sunfish, Elassoma gilberti, is a species of pygmy sunfish endemic to Florida, United States.
This species can reach 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) in standard length.
Elassoma gilberti is closely related to E. okefenokee, and the two species are nearly indistinguishable in appearance. E. gilberti in general has four preopercular canal pores, while E. okefenokee on average has three. The average number of anal fin rays is seven in E. gilberti and eight in E. okefenokee. The female E. gilberti often expresses a blue patch of color behind her eye, while the E. okefenokee does not.
In general, the western side of Florida near the Gulf of Mexico contains gilberti and the eastern coast near the Atlantic Ocean has okefenokee. The type locality for gilberti is near Tallahassee, Florida.
Range and ecology
This species occurs in northwestern Florida and southwestern Georgia in the lower Suwannee River drainage and other Gulf of Mexico drainages from the Waccasassa River west to Choctawhatchee Bay. They are usually found in slackwater environments, among dense aquatic vegetation and leaf litter, where they feed mainly on tiny insects, crustaceans, and worms.
