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Holiday darter, Etheostoma brevirostrum

Scientific name: The genus, Etheostoma, means strain mouth, which could refer to the small mouth of the fish.  The species name, brevirostrum, means short beak, in reference to the blunt snout of the fish.

Classification
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae

Species description
This small darter, 5.8 cm (1.5 to 2 in) maximum total length is very colorful.  Coloration becomes more distinctive during the breeding season, especially in the males.  Males have green areas on their body that will darken to a dark brown to black on the lateral line.  They have a green-blue anal fin which has a median red band, and also a red ocellus (spot) in the first membrane of the spiny dorsal fin, accompanied by a narrower red band in the soft dorsal fin.  There are white to bright yellow halos on the lower sides alongside red blotches.  The males’ snout, breast, and back area are green, with blue-green cheeks, opercles (gill cover), and gill membranes.  In general females are less colorful but do have a tint of green on their lateral sides and dorsal saddles, and also have a bright ocellus in the first membrane of the spiny dorsal fin.

Life cycle
Spawning usually occurs during April or May.  Fertilized eggs are attached to cobblestone and other substrate one at a time by the spawning pair.  Little else is known about the life cycle.

Natural history
The darter is found in small creeks to medium sized rivers with clear water.  It is usually located in lush aquatic vegetation where its bands of color help to camouflage it and prefers riverbeds of bedrock, cobblestone, sand, rubble, or gravel.  The holiday darter usually consumes small crustaceans, gastropods, and aquatic insect larvae.

Range
The holiday darter is endemic to the Coosa River system including the upper Conasauga, Etowah, and Coosawattee river systems and their tributaries in Georgia.  It is also found in the upper Coosa River system of Alabama and southeastern Tennessee.

Conservation status
The holiday darter is listed as threatened in the state of Georgia.

Text by:
Elizabeth Reitz - GA MNH / UGA, Athens, GA

Poster Concept and Design:
Paul D. Johnson - Concept, TNARI, Cohutta, GA
Jeffrey C. Worley - Design, Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN