Slough darter
| Slough darter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult male Etheostoma gracile | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Percidae |
| Genus: | Etheostoma |
| Species: | E. gracile |
| Binomial name | |
| Etheostoma gracile (Girard, 1859) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The slough darter (Etheostoma gracile) is a small fish species of least conservation concern in the darter (Percidae) family. It inhabits slow to moderately flowing waters and with substrates that are predominantly mud, silt, or sand. Major food sources include chironomids, copepods, and cladocerans, as well as mayflies in the spring. Adults reach 35 to 50 mm (1.4 to 2.0 in) total length.[2] It is one of the 324 species of fish found in Tennessee.[3][4]
At the southern end of its range in Texas, the slough darter breeds from January to March, while at the northern end of its range in Illinois, it breeds in May and June.[2][5] The eggs are attached to submerged vegetation, leaves, or twigs, and the adults do not guard them as some other members of this family do.[6]
Distribution and habitat
E. gracile is found in the Mississippi River basin from central Illinois and northeastern Missouri to Louisiana, also in the Red River drainages to southeastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma, and the Gulf Slope drainages from the Tombigbee River in Mississippi to the Nueces River in Texas.[2][6] Suitable habitats include pools of slow-flowing water in small streams, backwaters of larger rivers, turbid water over sand or mud, oxbow lakes, swamps, and among vegetation.[1]
Status
The IUCN has listed this species as being of "Least Concern", because it has an extensive range in the Mississippi River system, has a large total population size, and numerous subpopulations. In general, the population trend seems stable and no major threats have been identified.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 NatureServe (2013). "Etheostoma gracile". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- 1 2 3 Lee, David S.; Gilbert, Carter R.; Hocutt, Charles H; Jenkins, Robert E.; McAllister, Don E.; Stauffer, Jr., Jay R. (1980). Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. p. 651. ISBN 0917134036.
- ↑ "Tennessee Fish List". Darrin Hulsey's Lab. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013.
- ↑ Braasch, Marvin E.; Smith, Philip W. (June 1967). "The life history of the slough darter Etheostoma gracile (Pisces, Percidae)". Illinois Natural History Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- ↑ "Etheostoma gracile". Fishes of Texas. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Etheostoma gracile" in FishBase. November 2013 version.