Additional field notes
Blackfin darter occur in a limited part of the Tennessee River drainage.
Sources: Etheostoma nigripinne species summary
Pools, riffles, and drainage limits
The habitat described by FishBase combines rocky pools with adjoining riffles in headwaters, creeks, and small rivers. The range extends from the Paint Rock River downstream toward the Duck River system, across Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Its summary specifically excludes Cypress and most of the Shoal Creek system. A record elsewhere in the broader Tennessee basin should therefore be checked carefully rather than accepted solely because it lies in the same major drainage.
The range account includes both upper and lower parts of the Duck River system, rather than referring only to the main Tennessee River channel.
Sources: Etheostoma nigripinne species summary
Guide sources
Research reviewed 2026-10-19.
Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Blackfin darter (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
Diet and feeding
The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: invertebrates or larval fish. These are broad categories, not a claim that every individual consumes every example in a category.
Reported feeding positions include bottom feeding. The compilation combines published observations; diets can vary with age, locality, and available food.
Habitat preferences
Reported habitat associations include creeks.
The source records associations with gravel, cobble, bedrock. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.
Reproduction and parental care
The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1.5 years. Its maturity field summarizes mean, median, or modal estimates, usually for females; male estimates can be used when female data are unavailable. It is not a fixed age at which every fish first breeds.
Recorded spawning months are Apr, May for the source’s reporting region (MS). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.
The reproductive-guild classification includes guarding eggs or young at a spawning substrate or nest.
Size and recorded longevity
FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 8.8 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.
Recorded longevity in the compilation is 3 years. Wild observations were preferred, but captive records were accepted where wild records were unavailable, and unspecified records were assumed wild. The value is not a guaranteed wild lifespan or an aquarium life expectancy.
