Seagreen Darter

Etheostoma thalassinum

Percidae · freshwater water fish

2 minute read · Species guide

Seagreen Darter field guide illustration

About Seagreen Darter

The seagreen darter (Etheostoma thalassinum) 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 found in the Santee River drainage of North and South Carolina. It inhabits rocky riffles of creeks and small to medium rivers. This species can reach a length of 8.0 cm (3.1 in), though most only reach about 6.0 cm (2.4 in).

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 streams and small rivers.

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 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, Jun, Jul for the source’s reporting region (NC). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

The reproductive-guild classification includes spawning on open substrates without guarding the brood.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 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.

Range

Where it lives

Share of 475 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 5 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.
0%
45.9%
Share of 475 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 5 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.

The USGS stream survey caught it at 67 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
Undetermined

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Superclass
Actinopterygii
Class
Teleostei
Order
Perciformes
Family
Percidae
Genus
Etheostoma
Species
Etheostoma thalassinum
ITIS TSN
168442
WoRMS AphiaID
1020133
GBIF key
2382273

Common questions about Seagreen Darter

What is the scientific name of Seagreen Darter?
The scientific name is Etheostoma thalassinum, in the family Percidae. Classification follows ITIS.
Does Seagreen Darter live in fresh water or salt water?
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Where has Seagreen Darter been recorded in the United States?
GBIF has observations in 5 states, with the most records in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives

Other Etheostoma species

Same family

More Percidae

All 229 species in Percidae