The greenbreast darter (''Etheostoma jordani'') 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, 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 The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the Bl ...

. 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 A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

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 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 ...

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 The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...

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 American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 given as Choccolo Creek, tributary of Coosa River at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Calhoun County, Alabama Calhoun County is a County (United States), county in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 116,441. Its county seat is Anniston, Alabama, Anniston. It was named ...

. 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 The lipstick darter (''Etheostoma chuckwachatte'') 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 endemic to ...

(''E. chuckwachatte''), the Tuskaloosa darter (''E. douglasi'') and the Etowah darter (''Etheostoma etowahae, E. etowahae'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2043740 Etheostoma Fish described in 1891