Enneacanthus


Enneacanthus is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish in the sunfish family of order Centrarchiformes. The type species is E. obesus, the banded sunfish, and the species of this genus are known collectively as the banded or little sunfishes.
The Enneacanthus species, all of which grow to a maximum overall length of about 10 cm, are native to freshwater lakes, ponds, and estuaries along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.
All three species are kept as aquarium fish by hobbyists.

Etymology

The generic name Enneacanthus derives from the Greek εννέα and άκανθα.

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Enneacanthus chaetodon
black-banded sunfish
Enneacanthus gloriosus
blue-spotted sunfish
Enneacanthus obesus
banded sunfish