Fantail Darter Etheostoma flabellare
This species was found at 306 bioassessment sites, 38 rapid fish bioassessment sites, 106 fisheries assessment sites, and 31 fisheries presence-only assessment sites. In total, it was collected at 431 distinct sites, or 28.3% of the 1522 total sites monitored by the bioassessment program. It is the 17th most commonly collected species.
The Fantail Darter was collected in 765 bioassessment sampling sessions and 276 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 56,255 individual Fantail Darter specimens, ranking it the #9 most collected fish.
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.
Photo by John Olson. Cedar River, Waverly Iowa
Photo Credit John Olson
HUC12 watersheds where this species has been found