Etheostoma gracile

Etheostoma gracile, the slough darter, is a small species of ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae which includes the perches, ruffs and pike-perches. It inhabits slow to moderately flowing waters and with substrates that are predominantly mud, silt, or sand. Major food sources include chironomids, copepods, and cladocerans, as well as mayflies in the spring. Adults reach 35 to 50 mm (1.4 to 2.0 in) total length.[3] It is one of the 324 species of fish found in Tennessee.[4][5]

Slough darter
Adult male Etheostoma gracile
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Etheostoma
Species:
E. gracile
Binomial name
Etheostoma gracile
(Girard, 1859)
Synonyms[2]
  • Boleosoma gracile Girard, 1859

At the southern end of its range in Texas, the slough darter breeds from January to March, while at the northern end of its range in Illinois, it breeds in May and June.[3][6] The eggs are attached to submerged vegetation, leaves, or twigs, and the adults do not guard them as some other members of this family do.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Etheostoma gracile is found in the Mississippi River basin from central Illinois and northeastern Missouri to Louisiana, also in the Red River drainages to southeastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma, and the Gulf Slope drainages from the Tombigbee River in Mississippi to the Nueces River in Texas.[3][2] Suitable habitats include pools of slow-flowing water in small streams, backwaters of larger rivers, turbid water over sand or mud, oxbow lakes, swamps, and among vegetation.[1]

Status

The IUCN has listed this species as being of "Least Concern", because it has an extensive range in the Mississippi River system, has a large total population size, and numerous subpopulations. In general, the population trend seems stable and no major threats have been identified.[1]

References
  1. NatureServe (2013). "Etheostoma gracile". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T202487A2745261. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202487A2745261.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Etheostoma gracile" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. Lee, David S.; Gilbert, Carter R.; Hocutt, Charles H.; Jenkins, Robert E.; McAllister, Don E.; Stauffer Jr., Jay R. (1980). Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. p. 651. ISBN 0917134036.
  4. "Tennessee Fish List". Darrin Hulsey's Lab. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013.
  5. Braasch, Marvin E.; Smith, Philip W. (June 1967). "The life history of the slough darter Etheostoma gracile (Pisces, Percidae)" (PDF). Illinois Natural History Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2013. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Etheostoma gracile". Fishes of Texas. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
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