Stream records
A 2011 survey of fishes near Plummers Island describes fantail darters as riffle inhabitants and discusses populations in the Potomac drainage. It records uncertainty about some tributary reports that lacked voucher specimens or could not be confirmed during targeted sampling. The authors regarded the mid-Atlantic humerale form as a candidate for separate species recognition.
Sources: Fishes of the Potomac River in the vicinity of Plummers Island
Names and evidence
This species should be distinguished from Etheostoma barratti, a different darter whose common name is inconsistently assigned in some catalogs. A scientific name, drainage and documented specimen make a record far easier to interpret than the common name alone.
Sources: Fishes of the Potomac River in the vicinity of Plummers Island
Guide sources
Research reviewed 2026-10-19.
- Fishes of the Potomac River in the vicinity of Plummers Island — Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington
