Headwater Darter: Facts & Habitat

About Headwater Darter

The headwater darter (Etheostoma lawrencei) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the eastern United States where it is found in Kentucky and Tennessee in the upper Green River system down to the Mud River, in the Cumberland River and upper Salt River systems. It is an inhabitant of streams up to about 5 metres (16 ft) wide with gravel or cobble substrates. Males of this species can reach a length of 6.2 centimetres (2.4 in) SL while females only reach 5.7 centimetres (2.2 in). The headwater darter was first formally described in 2002 by Patrick A. Ceas and Brooks M. Burr With the type locality given as Koger Creek, which is in the drainage of the Wolf River, about 0.8 kilometers northwest of Rolan, Kentucky along Kentucky Route 415 at the confluence of McIver Creek in Clinton County.

NativeFresh2 states

Etymology

The specific name honors the American ichthyologist Lawrence M. Page of the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Headwater darter (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Range

Where it lives

79.7%of mapped records

Share of 548 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.

A blank area on the dot layer usually means nobody sampled there, not that the fish is absent. Turn on “every survey site” to see where the survey looked.

Share of records by state

The USGS stream survey caught it at 39 of its sites, in 1 state. That survey and the GBIF records are two different counts of two different things, so the site keeps them apart.

Habitat

Water and movement

Water: WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Migration: Undetermined

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Actinopterygii
Class: Teleostei
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Etheostoma
Species: Etheostoma lawrencei
ITIS TSN: 650192
WoRMS AphiaID: 1009806
GBIF key: 2382270

Common questions about Headwater Darter

What is the scientific name of Headwater Darter?

The scientific name is Etheostoma lawrencei, in the family Percidae. Classification follows ITIS.

Does Headwater Darter live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Headwater Darter been recorded in the United States?

GBIF has observations in 2 states, with the most records in Kentucky, Tennessee. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives