Darters of the Little River System

Leopard darter (Percina pantherina) is shown below in a side view and with a channel darter, the easiest darter with which it is confused. Leopard darters have very round spots on their sides with very crisp margins. If the spots look like they have been printed with a laser printer, it is a leopard darter. If the spots have ragged edges and are not as solid and dark similar to a low resolution (dot matrix) printer, it is a channel darter. Behaviors of these darters may lend themselves to sort out leopards from channels. Leopards appear to be curious and will actually come looking for you. They will swim away but generally slowly and then will turn back and look. They generally tend to stay up off the bottom a few inches. Channel darters tend to be more "flighty" and when they stop swimming they will settle on the bottom resting on their fins. Leopard darters will be found in slow to no flow areas associated with basketball size rock with little silt and sand. They generally aren't found in areas with extensive bedrock sheets or in fast water (such as riffles) except in the spring during spawning season. They are often be found near weedbeds, mostly water willows, where the substrate is mostly cobble and gravel.

Channel darter (Percina copelandi) (First picture below). This darter has rectangular spots on its lateral line and spots almost grading into saddles on its back. When viewed up close, the spots all have diffuse margins. The darter is generally viewed out in the open and in contact with the bottom.

Johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum)  (Second picture below)This darter is in the foreground with a channel darter behind it. Note the W- and X- shaped markings on the side of the johnny darter and the markings that look like bars across the back of this darter. The markings on the sides are less distinct on the sides of the johnny darter than the channel darter when viewed from underwater. The bars on the back of the johnnny darter are more distinctive than the channel darter saddles on the back.

Logperch (Percina caprodes) is shown below in a side view. This species is commonly called a sand pike and may also be found in reservoirs. Note the vertical bars with no “U’s”. It also has the caudal spot but only a light horizontal band on the nose that does not extend to or past the eye. There is a light vertical band through the eye. The head has a more bulbous nose with the mouth slightly subterminal or back under the tip of the snout. Up close, the mouth almost has a “sneer” look to it. They are generally found over bottoms of much finer material including silt and sand.

Click on image for a larger view.

Orangebelly darter (Etheostoma radiosum) (pictured below). This darter may be dark or light colored and is often seen under rocks with only the front part of its body sticking out. It is more laterally compressed than the other darters with which it shares the rivers.