Marbled Darter | Etheostoma marmorpinnum

Status: IUCN: Critically Endangered; USFWS: Endangered (1993)* under Duskytail Darter

Threats: Agricultural practices, climate change, habitat fragmentation, impoundments and sedimentation (What do these terms mean?)

Native Range: Little River (Tennessee River system), TN; Likely once occurred in Holston River.

Spawning Habitat Preferences: Late spring spawners in medium-sized streams with slow to moderate flow; lay clutches of eggs under , flat rocks

CFI Status: Propagated at CFI from 2003-2011, 2013, 2015 for augmentation; from 2017-Present for monitoring; 2024-Present for restoration (What do these terms mean?)

In Partnership With: Little TN Native Fish Conservation Area - Tennessee Valley Authority; Tallassee Fund - Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; World Wildlife Fund

Relevant Literature: Blanton, R.E. & R.E. Jenkins. 2008. Three new darter species of the federally endangered Etheostoma percnurum species complex (Percidae, subgenus Catonotus) from the Tennessee and Cumberland river drainages. Zootaxa 1963:1-24.

*The Marbled Darter was recently described as genetically distinct from the Duskytail Darter (literature above), along with the Tuxedo and Citico darters. All three of these split species are listed as Endangered under Duskytail Darter under the Endangered Species Act.

Species in the Catonotus sub-genus are referred to as Egg-Mimic Darters, as the males have egg-mimic structures on their dorsal fins to “fool” females into thinking they are already successful fathers and entice her to mate with them.