In 2008, examination of the morphology of this species led researchers to divide it into four species, describing the Citico darter (Etheostoma sitikuense), the marbled darter (Etheostoma marmorpinnum), and the tuxedo darter (Etheostoma lemniscatum) as new. Because E. percnurum carries the endangered species status, the three new species may be given that status.
These fish are threatened by the impoundment of waterways, increased silt, logging, coal mining, pollution, and disease.
Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Duskytail 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 medium to large rivers, streams and small rivers.
The source records associations with sand, gravel, cobble, boulders, bedrock. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.
Reproduction and parental care
The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1 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.
Batch or serial spawning has been reported somewhere in the species’ range. This does not establish the same spawning pattern for every population.
Recorded spawning months are Apr, May, Jun for the source’s reporting region (TN). 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 6.4 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 2 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.
