Percina vigil
Saddleback Darter
NS
G5
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Percidae (Perches)
Percina
Percina vigil (Saddleback 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.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated.
Distribution
North America: Mississippi River basin from southwestern Indiana and southeastern Missouri to Louisiana in the USA; Gulf Slope from Escambia River drainage in Alabama and Florida to Mississippi River in Louisiana. The name Percina vigil replaces Percina ouachitae.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. benthopelagic.
Biology
Inhabits sand and gravel runs of creeks and small to medium rivers, sometimes in very shallow water (Ref. 3814, 10294). Feeds on pleurocerid (Leptoxis) river snails, hydropsychid caddisfly larvae, midge larvae, and small mayfly nymphs, such as baetids (Ref. 10294).
Max length: 7.8 cm TL; common length: 4.8 cm TL; max age: 2 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-03-01. Resilience: High (tmax=2).
References
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott (1991) Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (20):183 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.
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