Skip to content
A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Etheostoma virgatum

Striped Darter
NS G4
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

There are no photos available for this taxon yet.

Records

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri) Percidae (Perches) Etheostoma Etheostoma virgatum (Striped 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: lower Cumberland River drainage (Stones River to Red River) in Kentucky and Tennessee, USA; in upper Caney Fork system in central Tennessee; and in Rockcastle River and nearby streams in eastern Kentucky.

Habitat Associations

Freshwater. benthopelagic.

Biology

Inhabit rocky pools of headwaters, creeks and small to medium rivers (Ref. 5723, 10294). Eggs are found clustered on underside of stone and guarded by males (Ref. 7043).
Max length: 7.8 cm TL; common length: 4.8 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders (clutch tenders); parental care: paternal. Eggs are found clustered on underside of stone (Ref. 7043). Males guard the eggs (Ref. 7043, 53335).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-01-25. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

References

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.
Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes (1993) The fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. (pls. check date).

Comments On Etheostoma virgatum

No comments have been posted yet.