Iowa DNR
BioNet
River & Stream Biological Monitoring
Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Surveys
Physical Habitat Assessments

Fantail Darter Etheostoma flabellare

Family
Percidae (Perches)
Tolerance
Intermediate
Trophic Class
Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic to Iowa?
False
Is Lithophilous Spawner?
False
Is Hybrid?
False
State Listing Status
Not Listed
Assessment Program Statistics

This species was found at 304 bioassessment sites, 38 rapid fish bioassessment sites, 104 fisheries assessment sites, and 31 fisheries presence-only assessment sites. In total, it was collected at 429 distinct sites, or 28.4% of the 1513 total sites monitored by the bioassessment program. It is the 17th most commonly collected species.

The Fantail Darter was collected in 743 bioassessment sampling sessions and 272 fisheries assessment sessions. It was present in 38 rapid bioassessment sessions and 42 presence-only sessions.

The biological assessment program has collected a total of 53,748 individual Fantail Darter specimens, ranking it the #10 most collected fish.

Species Characteristics

A slender species usually about 2-inches long. The spinous dorsal fin is low with tips on dorsal spines forming fleshy knobs in adult males. The body is sand to brown with a small dark spot on each scale. The dorsal fin rays number 12 to 14, and the anal rays are 7 to 9. Scale numbers along the lateral line are usually more than 50.

Species Distribution Maps

HUC12 watersheds where this species has been found