Species Accounts - Cyprinidae - Centrarchidae
Lepomis macrochirus
Rafinesque, 1819
The bluegill sunfish was introduced to the Yengi Kand Reservoir of the Namak Lake basin in 1969 from the U.S.A. (Andersskog, 1970; Anonymous, 1970a; Saadati, 1977; see also under Pimephales promelas) but the population perished through winterkill (R. J. Behnke, in litt., 1979). The locality mentioned in Saadati (1977), the Golpayegan Reservoir, is an error (R. J. Behnke, in litt., 1979). Hoffman (1970) mentions that a disease-free certificate was required for importation of this species to Iran, indicating that the introduction was deliberate.
Micropterus salmoides
(Lacèpede, 1802)

This North American species was introduced to the Yengi Kand Reservoir in the Namak Lake basin and possibly the Tigris River basin in the Ardakan-Yasuj area (Saadati, 1977; A. Shiralipour, pers. comm., 1978); see also under Pimephales promelas). The Namak Lake basin population died because of winterkill (R. J. Behnke, in litt., 1979) and the survival of the Ardakan-Yasuj population is not known. Its Farsi name is khorshid mahi baleh kuchek (= small-finned sunfish) or bas dehan (or dahan) bozorg (= largemouth bass). Heidinger (1976) summarises the biology of this species.
© Brian W. Coad (www.briancoad.com)