| Zusammenfassung: | Two new similar-appearing species of pygmy sunfishes, Elassoma boehlkei and E. okatie, are described from the Coastal Plain of North Carolina and South Carolina. Elassoma boehlkei is distinguished primarily by its mode of 13 dark and narrow trunk bars (mean 0.57 mm in width), a wide interbar space, several morphometric measurements, and by its relatively small size. Elassoma okatie is characterized by a mode of 11 dark and wide trunk bars (mean 1.11 mm in width), a narrow interbar space, several morphometric measurements, and by its larger size. The only other barred pygmy sunfish, E. zonatum, has a mode of nine dark and wide trunk bars, and its dark shoulder blotch and dark postocular stripe are both lacking in the two new species. Elassoma boehlkei occurs in two areas in the upper and lower Waccamaw River drainage, and at one site in the Santee River drainage. Elassoma okatie is known from the Edisto, New, and Savannah river drainages. Most populations of both new species occur in man-disturbed habitats. All sites for both species are characterized by shallow and quiet water, a soft detritus-rich substrate, and abundant emergent and/or submerged aquatic vegetation. A key is given to the species of Elassoma.
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