Elassoma zonatum
Jordan 1877
Family Elassomatidae
The banded pygmy sunfish is a member of the pygmy sunfish family. It has between seven and 12 black bars on the side of the light to dark brown body, and between one and two large and sometimes indistinct black spots on the upper side of the body near the dorsal fin origin. Large males are black with alternating bronze and black bars on the side. The banded pygmy sunfish can be found in swamps, sloughs, ditches and backwaters of small streams; usually found near vegetation or woody debris.
Status & distribution
- Status — Native freshwater
- Florida Distribution — Western and North Central and Peninsula drainages
- River Drainages — Perdido River, Escambia River, Blackwater River, Yellow River, Choctawhatchee River, Apalachicola River, Ochlockonee River, minor Gulf tributaries, Suwannee River, St. John’s River and the St. Mary’s River