Golden darter

The golden darter (Etheostoma denoncourti) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in the upper Tennessee River,[2] one of the over 300 fish species found in Tennessee.[3]

Golden darter
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Etheostoma
Species:
E. denoncourti
Binomial name
Etheostoma denoncourti
Stauffer & van Snik, 1997

Identification

This species is similar to the Tippecanoe darter but has scales on cheek behind the eye, 2nd dorsal under the 1st dorsal fin.[4] The golden darter has a gold margin to the 1st dorsal fin and the body is orange in color marked with vertical dark bars towards the tail.[5]

Range

The golden darter is extremely localized. It can be found in the Tennessee River drainage, VA, and TN.[4] The species occurs in not more than 10 locations, and habitat quality is subject to ongoing declines. This darter is restricted to the Tennessee River drainage in Tennessee and Virginia. It has been collected from Copper Creek and the Clinch, Sequatchie, Duck, and Buffalo rivers.[1]

Habitat and biology

The golden darter prefers shallow gravel riffles in small to medium-sized rivers. It is thought to be a species in which the eggs are buried in the substrate.[1]

Taxonomy and etymology

The golden darter was first formally described in 1997 by Jay Richard Stauffer, Jr. and Ellen S. van Snik Gray with the type locality given as Copper Creek, 180-460 meters upstream from its mouth on Virginia State Route 627, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Clinchport, Virginia.[6] Previously these fish were considered to be the upper Tennessee River population of the Tippecanoe darter (E. tippiecanoe) but were found to differ in meristics and coloration.[7] The specific name honours Robert F. Denoncourt who introduced Stauuffer to the "diversity and complexity of the stream fishes in the southern Appalachian drainage".[8]

References
  1. NatureServe (2013). "Etheostoma denoncourti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T202473A2745163. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202473A2745163.en. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "WEtheostoma denoncourti" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. David A. Etnier & Wayne C. Starnes (1993). The Fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press Knoxville. ISBN 0-87049-711-1.
  4. Page, Lawrence; Burr, Brooks (2011). Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 553. ISBN 0547242069..
  5. "Golden Darter (Etheostoma denoncourti)". Tennessee Aquarium. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  6. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Etheostoma denoncourti". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  7. Christopher E. Skelton & David A. Etnier (2000). "Taxonomic Status of Etheostoma denoncourti Stauffer and van Snik". Copeia. 2000 (4): 1097–1103.
  8. Jay Richard Stauffer, Jr.; Ellen S. van Snik Gray (1997). "New Species of Etheostoma (Teleostei: Percidae) from the Upper Tennessee River". Copeia. 1997 (1): 116–112. doi:10.2307/1447846.
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