Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess morphological differences between stunted and non‐stunted white perch Morone americana and green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus . Few female M. americana were captured; thus, morphological differences between adult males and juveniles were assessed for M. americana . Similarly, few immature (juvenile) L. cyanellus were captured for the stunted morphotype; thus, male and female morphological differences were assessed for L. cyanellus . Features of the head tended to be relatively larger in stunted fish of both species, whereas the mid‐body tended to be relatively larger in non‐stunted M. americana , but not in non‐stunted L. cyanellus . Adult and juvenile morphology overlapped considerably in non‐stunted M. americana , but there was a clear distinction between adult and juvenile morphology of stunted M. americana . There was little sexual dimorphism in shape in stunted L. cyanellus , whereas sexual dimorphism was evident in non‐stunted L. cyanellus . It appears that selective forces imposed by predation and food limitation may contribute to morphological diversification between stunted and non‐stunted fishes.