Riverweed Darter: Facts & Habitat

About Riverweed Darter

The riverweed darter (Etheostoma podostemone) 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 occurs in the upper Roanoke River drainage in Virginia and North Carolina. It inhabits rocky riffles of creeks and small rivers. This species can reach a length of 7.6 cm (3.0 in).

NativeFresh3 states

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Riverweed 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, creeks.

The source records associations with gravel, cobble, boulders. 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 (VA). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 7 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 4 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.

Range

Where it lives

79.4%of mapped records

Share of 394 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 3 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 47 of its sites, in 2 states. 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: Not migratory

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Actinopterygii
Class: Teleostei
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Etheostoma
Species: Etheostoma podostemone
ITIS TSN: 168423
WoRMS AphiaID: 1019686
GBIF key: 2382331

Common questions about Riverweed Darter

What is the scientific name of Riverweed Darter?

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

Does Riverweed Darter live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Riverweed Darter been recorded in the United States?

GBIF has observations in 3 states, with the most records in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives