The Kanawha darter (''Etheostoma kanawhae'') is a species of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, 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 family i ...

, part of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Percidae The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains more than ...

, which also contains the

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

es, ruffes and pikeperches. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Geographic distribution

The Kanawha darter is only known to occur in the New River drainage of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. It inhabits fast-flowing waters in riffles of small and medium rivers over gravel or rubble substrates.

Description

The Kanawha darter can reach a length of TL though most only reach .

Habitat and biology

The Kanawha darter is found in riffles with a fast flow over gravel and rubble substrates in small to medium rivers, it can also occur in areas with hard bed in Clear streams and rivers with both cold and warm waters. It has been recorded forming bredding groups In shallow water at depths of where there is a swift current as well as in deeper water at depths of where there are riffles over sand, gravel and pebbles at a water temperature of . Some males may breed for the first time at 1 year old but most males and all females first breed at 2 years old. The main food of this species is insect larvae.

Taxonomy

The Kanawha darter was first formally described in 1941 as ''Poecilichthys kanawhae'' by Edward Cowdenbeath Raney with the type locality given as the North Fork of the New River on

North Carolina Highway 16 North Carolina Highway 16 (NC 16) is a 143.8-mile (231.4 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling in a north–south direction, it connects the cities and towns of Charlotte, Newton, Conover, Taylors ...

at Crumpler, Ashe County, North Carolina.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q304854 Freshwater fish of the United States Etheostoma Fish described in 1941 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot