Orangethroat Darter
Etheostoma spectabile
- Class
- Ray-finned fish
- Rarity
- Common
- Observations
- 2,106
- Most observed in
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Description
The orangethroat darter (Etheostoma spectabile) 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 the central and eastern United States where it is native to parts of the Mississippi River Basin and Lake Erie Basin. Its typical habitat includes shallow gravel riffles in cooler streams and rocky runs and pools in headwaters, creeks, and small rivers, with sand, gravel, rubble, or rock substrates. It forages on the bottom for the aquatic larvae of midges, blackfly, mayfly and caddisfly, as well as isopods and amphipods. Spawning takes place in spring, the selected sites often being the upper stretches of riffles with sandy and gravelly bottoms interspersed with larger cobble. Reproductive success is high in this species. No particular threats have been identified, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Orangethroat darter”.