The greenbreast darter (''Etheostoma jordani'') is a species of freshwater
ray-finned fish, a darter from the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Etheostomatinae
Etheosomatidae is a species rich subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fish, the members of which are commonly known as the darters. The subfamily is part of the family Percidae which also includes the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. The famil ...
, part of the
family Percidae, which also contains the
perches,
ruffes and
pikeperches. It is
endemic to the southeastern United States, where it occurs in the systems of the
Alabama River
The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka.
The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it un ...
and the
Black Warrior River. It is an inhabitant of streams and rocky riffles of creeks and smaller rivers. This species can reach a length of , though most only reach about .
Description
The greenbreast darter is marked with red spots along the flanks, greenish-brown lips and a turquoise
anal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
. The breeding males are olive in overall colour with an indistinct pattern of 3 to 11 dark vertical bars along the flanks. There are 8 or 9 olive to brown saddles along the back. The ventral part of the head, the breast and the gill membranes are turquoise. The spiny Part of the
dorsal fin is clear to white On the margin with a red submarginal band Which is most obvious at the head end of the fin. The margin of the
caudal fin has a thin turquoise or black band at its tops, a slender yellow band In the center, and a wide red to orange band near the base.
Distribution
The green breast darter is restricted to the upper Mobile Basin (but not present in the
Tombigbee River drainage), primarily above the Fall Line, and often a very common species in suitable habitats.
Habitat and biology
Greenbreast darter adults typically occur in riffles of clear creeks and small to medium rivers, in moderate to strong current with gravel or rubble substrate. The eggs are laid in riffles with the bed made up of sand and gravel, batches of eggs being laid in different locations.
Taxonomy and etymology
The greenbreast darter was first formally
described in 1891 by the
American ichthyologist
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...
Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1948) with the
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
given as Choccolo Creek, tributary of Coosa River at
Oxford,
Calhoun County, Alabama.
The
spcific name honors the American ichthyologist
David Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...
(1851-1931).
[ it is considered to form a species complex with the lipstick darter (''E. chuckwachatte''), the Tuskaloosa darter (''E. douglasi'') and the Etowah darter (''Etheostoma etowahae, E. etowahae'').][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2043740
Etheostoma
Fish described in 1891