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A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Etheostoma nianguae

Niangua Darter
Federal: Threatened NS G2
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 nianguae (Niangua 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. Distinguished by having the following characters: caudal fin base with 2 jet-black spots (unfused); lateral line with 72-82 scales; breeding males with large bright orange and green bars along side, orange and green bands on dorsal and caudal fins (Ref. 86798).

Distribution

North America: Osage River drainage (Missouri River basin) in southern central Missouri, USA.

Habitat Associations

Freshwater. benthopelagic.

Biology

This species inhabits rocky pools and runs of creeks and small to medium rivers (Ref. 5723). Its eggs are found buried in the substrate (Ref. 7043).
Max length: 13.0 cm TL; common length: 7.3 cm TL; max age: 4 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (brood hiders); parental care: none. Eggs are found buried in the substrate (Ref. 7043).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2011-12-21. Resilience: Medium (tmax=4; Fec=162-3,974).

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.
Page, L. (1983) Handbook of darters. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. USA. 271 p.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (2011) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p.

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