Striped Darter: Facts & Habitat

About Striped Darter

The striped darter (Etheostoma virgatum) 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 lower Cumberland River drainage (Stones River to Red River) in Kentucky and Tennessee, in the upper Caney Fork system in central Tennessee; and in Rockcastle River and nearby streams in eastern Kentucky. It inhabits rocky pools of headwaters, creeks and small to medium river. This species can reach a length of 7.8 cm (3.1 in), though most only reach about 4.8 cm (1.9 in).

NativeFresh2 states

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Striped 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.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include medium to large rivers, streams and small rivers, creeks.

The source records associations with gravel, cobble. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 2 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 (TN). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 7.8 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Range

Where it lives

83.3%of mapped records

Share of 311 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 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: Migratory
Pattern: Potamodromous — migrates within fresh water

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Actinopterygii
Class: Teleostei
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Etheostoma
Species: Etheostoma virgatum
ITIS TSN: 168447
WoRMS AphiaID: 1466509
GBIF key: 2382255

Common questions about Striped Darter

What is the scientific name of Striped Darter?

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

Does Striped Darter live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Striped 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