Teardrop Darter: Facts & Habitat

About Teardrop Darter

The teardrop darter (Etheostoma barbouri) 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. It is only found in Kentucky and Tennessee, where it occurs in the middle to upper reaches of the Green River drainage. It inhabits small rivers and creeks and rocky pools where it feeds on the larvae of blackflies and midges, immature stages of caddisflies and mayflies, and cladocerans and copepods. This species can reach a length of 6 cm (2.4 in), though most only reach about 4.2 cm (1.7 in). This species creates nests in which the females deposit their eggs and these are guarded by the male and have been found to contain between 40 and 80 eggs. The teardrop darter was first formally described by Robert A. Kuehne and James W. Small Jr. in 1971 with the type locality given as Brush Creek, a tributary of the Green River, 2.7 miles north of Liberty, Casey County, Kentucky. The specific name honours Professor Roger W. Barbour (1919–1993) in recognition of his contribution to the knowledge of Kentucky's vertebrate fauna.

NativeFresh3 states

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Teardrop 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 streams and small rivers, creeks.

The source records associations with sand, gravel, cobble. 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 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 7.2 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Range

Where it lives

91.8%of mapped records

Share of 158 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 3 states.

Share of records by state

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 barbouri
ITIS TSN: 168373
WoRMS AphiaID: 1013152
GBIF key: 2382222

Common questions about Teardrop Darter

What is the scientific name of Teardrop Darter?

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

Does Teardrop Darter live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Teardrop Darter been recorded in the United States?

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

Closest relatives