Kieran Lindsey: The Great Pumpkinseed

Center for Humans and Nature:

August Rode

This colorful Centrarchidae with scarlet-lipped ear flaps is sheathed in seedy speckles of colors that range from Caramel orange to Lemon Drop yellow, Red Hots red to Starburst blue-raspberry blue and Lifesavers lime green. The “official” origin story is that the common name for this mid-sized fish (4-11″ or 10-28 cm, tipping the scales at a maximum of 1.5 lbs or 680 g) derives from the oval contour of the body rather than the coloration pattern.