Etheostoma chlorosoma
bluntnose darter
Type Locality
Branch of Tuscumbia River, at
Corinth, Alcorn County, Mississippi; Sand Creek, near Artesia, Lowndes
County, Mississippi; and Horsehunter Creek, at Macon, Noxubee County,
Mississippi (Hay 1881).
Etymology/Derivation of Scientific Name
Etheostoma, from the
Greek etheo, “to strain,” and stoma, “mouth;” chlorosoma,
Greek, meaning “greenish-yellow” (Pflieger 1997).
Synonymy
Vaillantia chlorosoma Hay 1881:495.
Vaillantia camura Hay 1883:62.
Beleosoma camurum
Hildebrand and Towers 1928:125.
Etheosoma chlorosomum
Cook 1959:201.
Characters
Maximum size: 50 mm SL
(Etnier and Starnes 1993; Carlander 1997).
Coloration: Head with
preorbital bars that extend (and connect) around snout in addition to dark
suborbital bars and postorbital spots; lateral region greenish-yellow with
dark "X" and "M" shaped markings and a small dark caudal spot; ventral
region white. Dorsal and caudal fins with light brown stripes; other fins
are colorless. Breeding males have the above colors in a darker shade with
operculum having a metallic green coloration and the first dorsal fin with
black stripes notable anteriorly.
Counts: Data for
specimens collected in the Colorado, Brazos, San Jacinto, Trinity, Neches,
and Sabine drainages: 52-63 total lateral line scales, 10-40 are pored;
11-15 scales in transverse series; 16-23 caudal peduncle scale rows. Fin
rays: dorsal 8-12; anal 7-10; branched caudal 12-15; total pectoral 24-28;
pelvic 5 (Bart and Cashner 1986). 1 anal fin spine (Hubbs et al. 1991).
Body shape: Elongated
and slender.
Mouth position:
Subterminal and horizontal.
External morphology:
Incomplete lateral line, blunt snout. Bart and Cashner (1986) noted sexual
dimorphism in the following characters: Breeding males with small, tubular
shaped genital papillae and thickened, fleshy pelvic and anal spines;
tubercles observed on pelvic and anal spines; tubercles usually present on
the anterior rays of these fins, but sometimes seen on all rays and spines.
Females with large, fleshy heart-shaped genital papillae which increased in
size as females approached height of breeding condition. Mature males and
females have two rows of tubercle-like structures on the interradial
membrane of the caudal fin (distribution and fleshy nature of structures
suggests function similar to contact organs during spawning; Bart and
Cashner 1986).
Distribution (Native and Introduced)
U.S. distribution:
Mississippi River drainage and gulf slope drainages from Alabama to Texas
(Hubbs et al. 1991).
Texas distribution:
Guadalupe River drainage eastward (Hubbs et al. 1991). Warren et al. (2000)
listed the following drainage units for distribution of Etheostoma
chlorosomum in the state: Red River (from the mouth upstream to and
including the Kiamichi River), Sabine Lake (including minor coastal
drainages west to Galveston Bay), Galveston Bay (including minor coastal
drainages west to mouth of Brazos River), Brazos River, Colorado River, San
Antonio Bay (including minor coastal drainages west of mouth of Colorado
River to mouth of Nueces River).
Abundance/Conservation status (Federal, State, NGO)
Currently secure (Warren et
al. 2000).
Habitat Associations
Macrohabitat: Low
gradient, clear, small streams to moderate-sized rivers (Gilbert 1980; Simon
and Wallus 2006). Specimens collected from middle Brazos River (Texas) oxbow
lakes (Winemiller et al. 2000; Zeug et al. 2005).
Mesohabitat:
Backwaters, pools, and areas of slow current in areas with organic debris,
silt, and sand (Gilbert 1980; Bart and Cashner 1986; Simon and Wallus 2006).
Abundance of this species apparently unaffected by removal of submersed
aquatic vegetation in Lake Conroe, a reservoir in the headwaters of the San
Jacinto River, southeastern Texas, as it was rare when vegetation was
abundant, and did not increase in abundance following vegetation removal
(Bettoli et al. 1993).
Biology
Spawning season: Early
January to late March, in east Texas (Hubbs 1985). Spawning temperatures
range from 22-26°C (Simon 1994).
Spawning location:
Nest spawners on plants or plant debris (Winn 1958; Carlander 1997). Female
selects spawning site; eggs laid on algae, twigs, and leaves (Page et al.
1982).
Reproductive strategy:
Guarders; substratum spawners; phytophils – have adhesive eggs that are
attached to a variety of plants. Free embryos without cement glands (Page et
al. 1982; Bart, unpublished data in: Simon 1999). Male swims near
female, both vibrate while depositing milt and one to three eggs per bout
(Page et al. 1982).
Fecundity: Females
measuring 38-49 mm TL collected from a creek in Union Parish, Louisiana, had
a mean ovary weight that was 17.1% of the body weight, containing a mean of
117.6 total ova that average 0.83 mm in diameter; females showed
statistically significant increasing fecundity with increasing length;
females 38-49 mm TL had 73-171 large mature ova (Simon, T.P., unpublished
data; Simon and Wallus 2006). Eggs from Louisiana are spherical, range from
0.9-1.1 mm diameter (mean 1.0 mm), translucent, demersal, and nonadhesive
(Simon 1994). Eggs from Cummins Creek and
various Neches River tributaries, Texas, average 1.05 mm in diameter;
hatching occurs after 156-211 hours at an incubation temperature of 26°C
(Hubbs 1967).
Age/size at maturation:
No information; likely before age-1. Simon and Wallus (2006) reported that
female specimens from an unnamed creek in Union Parish, Louisiana were
sexually mature at 39 mm TL.
Migration: NA
Longevity: Up to three
years (Etnier and Starnes 1993).
Food habits: Benthic
invertivore (Goldstein and Simon 1999). In Tennessee specimens, stomachs
contained hydropsychid caddisfly, dytiscid beetle, and midge larvae (Etnier
and Starnes 1993; Goldstein and Simon 1999).
Growth: Larval
size range 5.6-14.0 mm TL (Simon 1994; Simon and Wallus 2006). Etnier
and Starnes (1993) reported that young-of-year were about 30 mm TL in
mid-August; based on length classes and scale annuli, other age groups in a
large August collection were 37-41 mm, and 46-50 mm TL.
Phylogeny and morphologically similar fishes
Subgenus Vaillantia
(Gilbert 1980).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
[Additional
literature noting collection of this species from Texas locations includes,
but is not limited to the following: Hubbs and Hettler (1958); Evans and
Noble (1979); Kleinsasser and Linam (1987); Linam and Kleinsasser (1987);
Winemiller (1991); Matthews et al. (1996); Moriarty and Winemiller (1997);
Winemiller et al. (2004).]
Host Records
Urocleidus chlorosomus
and U. lottensis (Trematoda: Monogenea), reported from species in
southern Mississippi
(Harrises and Vickery 1970).
References
Bart, H.L., Jr. and R.C. Cashner. 1986. Geographic variation in Gulf slope
populations of the bluntnose darter, Etheostoma chlorosomum (Hay)
Tulane Stud. Zool. Bot. 25(2):151-170.
Bettoli, P.W, M.J. Maceina, R.L. Noble, and R.K. Betsill. 1993. Response of
a reservoir fish community to aquatic vegetation removal. North American
Journal of Fisheries Management 13:110-124.
Carlander, K.D. 1997. Handbook of Freshwater Fishery Biology. Vol. 2. Iowa
State Univ. Press, Ames. 397 pp.
Cook, F.A. 1959. Freshwater fishes in Mississippi. Mississippi Game and Fish
Commission, Jackson. 239 pp.
Etnier, D.A., and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The Fishes of Tennessee. University of
Tennessee Press, Knoxville. 681 pp.
Evans, J.W., and R.L. Noble. 1979. Longitudinal distribution of fishes in an
East Texas stream. American Midland Naturalist 101(2):333-343.
Gilbert, C.R. 1980. Etheostoma chlorosomum (Hay), Bluntnose darter.
pp. 634 in D. S. Lee, et al. Atlas of North American Freshwater
Fishes. N. C. State Mus. Nat. Hist., Raleigh, i-r+854 pp.
Goldstein, R.M., and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild
structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. pp.
123-202 in T.P. Simon, editor. Assessing the sustainability and
biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press,
Boca Raton, Florida. 671 pp.
Harrises, A.E., and R.L. Vickery. 1970. Additional species of
Ancyrocephalinae (Trematoda: Monogenea) from darters of southern
Mississippi. American Midland Naturalist 84(2):437-443.
Hay, O.P. 1881. On a collection of fishes from eastern Mississippi. Proc.
U.S. Nat. Mus. 3:488-515.
Hay, O.P. 1883. On a collection of fishes from lower Mississippi valley.
Proc. Bull. U.S. Fish Comm. 2:57-75.
Hildebrand S.F. and I.L. Towers. 1928. Annotated list of fishes collected in
the vicinity of Greenwood, Mississippi, with descriptions of three new
species. Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish. 43(2):105-136.
Hubbs, C. 1967. Geographic variations in survival of hybrids between
etheostomine fishes. Bull. Texas. Mem. Mus. No. 13. 72 pp.
Hubbs, C. 1985. Darter reproductive seasons. Copeia 1985(1):56-68.
Hubbs, C., and W.F. Hettler. 1958. Fluctuations of some Central Texas fish
populations. The Southwestern Naturalist 3(1/4):13-16.
Kleinsasser, L.J., and G.W. Linam. 1987. Fisheries use attainability study
for Pine Island Bayou (Segment 0607). River studies Report No. 6. Resource
Protection Division. Texas Parks and Wildlife, Austin. 19 pp.
Linam, G.W., and L.J. Kleinsasser. 1987. Fisheries use attainability study
for Cow Bayou (Segment 0511). River Studies Report No. 5. Resource
Protection Division. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin. 14 pp.
Matthews, W.J., M.S. Schorrs, and M.R. Meador. 1996. Effects of
experimentally enhanced flows on fishes of a small Texas (U.S.A.) stream:
assessing the impact of interbasin transfer. Freshwater Biology 35:349-362.
Moriarty, L.J., and K.O. Winemiller. 1997. Spatial and temporal variation in
fish assemblage structure in Village Creek, Hardin County, Texas. Texas
Journal of Science 49(3):85-110.
Page, L.M., M.E. Retser, and R.A. Stiles. 1982. Spawning behavior in seven
species of darters (Pisces: Percidae). Brimleyana. 8:135-143.
Pflieger, W.L. 1997. The Fishes of Missouri. Missouri Department of
Conservation, Jefferson City. 372 pp.
Simon, T.P. 1994. Ontogeny and systematics of darters (Percidae) with
discussion of ecological effects of larval morphology. Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis, University of Illinois, Chicago. 672 pp.
Simon, T.P. 1999. Assessment of Balon’s reproductive guilds with application
to Midwestern North American Freshwater Fishes, pp. 97-121. In:
Simon, T.L. (ed.). Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of
water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, Florida. 671
pp.
Simon, T.P., and R.Wallus. 2006. Reproductive Biology and Early Life History
of Fishes in the Ohio River Drainage, Volume 4. Taylor and Francis Group,
Boca Raton, Florida. 619 pp.
Warren, M.L.., Jr., B.M. Burr, S.J. Walsh, H.L. Bart, Jr., R.C. Cashner,
D.A. Etnier, B.J. Freeman, B. R. Kuhajda, R.L. Mayden, H.W. Robison, S.T.
Ross, and W.C. Starnes. 2000. Diversity, Distribution, and Conservation
status of the native freshwater fishes of the southern United States.
Fisheries 25(10):7-29.
Winemiller, K.O. 1991. Ecomorphological diversification in lowland
freshwater fish assemblage from five biotic regions. Ecological Monographs
61(4):343-365.
Winemiller,
K.O., F.P. Gelwick, T.H. Bonner, S. Zeug, and C. Williams. 2004. Response of
oxbow lake biota to hydrologic exchanges with the Brazos River channel.
Final Project Report to the Texas Water Development Board. 59 pp.
Winemiller,
K.O., S. Tarim, D. Shormann, and J.B. Cotner. 2000. Fish assemblage
structure in relation to environmental variation among Brazos River oxbow
lakes. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 129:451-468.
Winn, H.E. 1958. Comparative reproductive behavior and ecology of fourteen
species of darters (Pisces, Percidae). Ecological Monographs 28(2):155-191.
Zeug, S.C., K.O. Winemiller, and S. Tarim. 2005. Response of Brazos River
assemblage to patterns of hydrologic connectivity and environmental
variability. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 134:1389-1399.
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