About the Coosa .. Life in the Coosa .. Threats to the Coosa .. Helping the Coosa
Main Coosa Page .. Georgia Museum of Natural History

Cherokee darter, Etheostoma scotti

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

Species description
The Cherokee darter is a small darter species that reaches 4 to 6.5 cm  (1.6 to 2.6 in) in length.  It has a rounded snout, a dark bar beneath its eye, eight dark saddles on its back, and at least six dark bands on its side.  In breeding males, there are red bands on one or more dorsal fins.

Life cycle
The Cherokee darter spawns throughout March and June.  The darter is thought to live two to three years, but little is known about its life cycle or breeding habits.

Natural history
The Cherokee darter prefers small to medium-sized streams with shallow pools and runs that have bottoms of rocks and gravel.  It lives, forages, and spawns on the stream bottom.  It also prefers a reduced current with large gravel, cobble, and small boulder substrates and clear streams with little silt.

Range
The Cherokee darter is endemic to the Etowah River Basin only in the upper Coosa River system.  Populations are fragmented and isolated due to earlier dam construction.  The largest populations are found upstream of the Allatoona Reservoir.  Approximately 50% of known populations occur in Cherokee County, Georgia.

Conservation status
Federally listed as threatened.

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