this is mine, collection point is Sulphur OK. Tank raised F1 male.
My impression of the "subspecies" of longear sunfish, is that they vary slightly in color between each water system, and are constantly recombining, since they use the heavy rains to disperse through waterways (i've seen them do this here). But there are three main groups. This one is the common variety here in Oklahoma, orange and turquoise are the dominant colors. The second one, my personal favorite, is the southern variety, which is mostly red, with some blue/turquoise on the face. Males of this variety in spring are stunning. This variety is very rare here in Oklahoma, but I have seen them in the deep fork river system. I believe that this strain ranges from central OK at its most northern point, and continue down from here to louisiana, where they are most common. There is a third variety that is more northern, though I don't know much about those. I think they are more green? All I know is we don't have them here, and the more southern variants are so much more colorful I haven't really bothered to look into it.
