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A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Etheostoma acuticeps

Sharphead Darter
NS G3
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

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Records

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri) Percidae (Perches) Etheostoma Etheostoma acuticeps (Sharphead Darter)

Description

This species account was compiled from FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.) and processed using AI-assisted text extraction. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Body shape: elongated.

Distribution

North America: found only in Holston and Nolichucky River systems (Tennessee River drainage) in western Virginia, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, USA.

Habitat Associations

Freshwater. benthopelagic.

Biology

Occurs in fast, deep rocky riffles in small to medium rivers (Ref. 5723, 10294).
Max length: 8.4 cm TL; common length: 5.5 cm TL; max age: 3 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (brood hiders); parental care: none. Eggs are left buried in small gravel and pebbles (Ref. 6466).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2011-12-02. Resilience: High (tmax=3; Fec=100).

References

Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (1991) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p.
James, P.W. and C.A. Taber (1986) Reproductive biology and age and growth of the yoke darter, Etheostoma juliae. Copeia 1986(2):536-540.

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