Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Sharpnose darter (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
Sharpnose Darter
Percina oxyrhynchus
Percidae · freshwater water fish
2 minute read · Species guide

About Sharpnose Darter
The sharpnose darter (Percina oxyrhynchus) 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 North America where it occurs in the southern tributaries of upper Ohio River, to the Kentucky River in Kentucky, south in the New River drainage to North Carolina. It prefers gravel runs and riffles of small to medium-sized rivers.
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. 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 (NC). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.
The reproductive-guild classification includes hiding a brood without subsequent guarding.
Size and recorded longevity
FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 12 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
Share of records by state
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
- Percina
- Species
- Percina oxyrhynchus
- ITIS TSN
- 201997
- WoRMS AphiaID
- 1525248
- GBIF key
- 2382035
Common questions about Sharpnose Darter
What is the scientific name of Sharpnose Darter?
Does Sharpnose Darter live in fresh water or salt water?
Where has Sharpnose Darter been recorded in the United States?
Closest relatives
Other Percina species
Same family