The Tennessee darter (''Etheostoma tennesseense'') 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.{{Fishbase , Etheostoma, tennesseense , month= December , year = 2019} 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 eastern

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 ...

, where it occurs in the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

drainage from western

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 ...

to western

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. It also occurs in the upper

Bluestone River The Bluestone River is a tributary of the New River, 77 mi (124 km) long, in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia in the United States.

drainage in western Virginia. It inhabits current-swept rocky pools and adjacent riffles of creeks and small to medium rivers. This species can reach a length of {{convert, 6, cm, in, abbr=on.{{cite web , url = https://www.outdooralabama.com/darters/tennessee , title = Tennessee , access-date = 27 October 2020 , publisher = Outdoor Alabama

Range

The Tennessee darter can be found in the Tennessee River system from West Virginia to Hardin Creek (Harden County) Tennessee. They are absent in the upper Holston River system at the North, South, and Middle forks. It is believed that it has been extirpated from the North Carolina stream systems.

Habitat

The Tennessee darter prefers current-swept rocky pools and the adjacent riffles. They can be found in creeks and small to medium rivers. They prefer fresh inland wetlands. Non-migrant species showing a decline in area, extent, or quality of habitat.{{Cite book, title=Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes, Second Edition, last=Page, first=Lawrence, last2=Burr, first2=Brooks, publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, year=2011, isbn=0547242069, pages=553

Population

Tennessee Darter populations are currently stable. The species is represented by a large number of subpopulations. Total adult population size is presumably greater than 10,000.

Conservation Actions

The species is currently at low conservation concerns, but suitable habitat is decreasing. Currently no management, monitoring, or research actions are being deployed.

Taxonomy

The Tennessee darter was first formally described in 2007 by Steven L. Powers and Richard L. Mayden with the type locality given as the

Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...

at Frost Ford along the Jimmie Roberts Road in

Hancock County, Tennessee Hancock County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,662, making it the fourth-least populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Sneedville. History Hanco ...

.{{Cof record , spid=69874 , title = ''Etheostoma tennesseense'' , access-date = 27 October 2020 Some authorities, but not all, place this species in the '' Etheostoma simoterum''

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

.{{cite web , url = https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.872520/Etheostoma_tennesseense , title = ''Etheostoma tennesseense'' Tennessee Darter , access-date = 27 October 2020, publisher = NatureServe

References

{{Reflist {{Taxonbar, from=Q5675904 Etheostoma Fish described in 2007 Taxa named by Steven L. Powers Taxa named by Richard L. Mayden