Home/Species/ Brighteye Darter

Etheostoma lynceum

Hay, 1885

Brighteye Darter

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

MediumThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102216

Element CodeAFCQC02950

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassActinopterygii

OrderPerciformes

FamilyPercidae

GenusEtheostoma

Concept Reference

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.

Taxonomic Comments

Formerly included as a subspecies of E. zonale; regarded as a distinct species by Etnier and Starnes (1986), Page and Burr (1991, 2011), and in the 1991 and 2004 AFS checklists (Robins et al. 1991, Nelson et al. 2004).

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2011-12-20

Change Date1996-09-24

Edition Date2011-12-20

Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.

Threat ImpactMedium

Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences81 - 300

Range Extent Comments

Range includes tributaries of the Mississippi River on the Former Mississippi Embayment, in western Kentucky, western Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana; also Gulf Coast drainages from the Escatawpa River, extreme southwestern Alabama (just a few occurrences in that state), to the Mississippi River, Louisiana (Page and Burr 2011).

Extent of occurrence appears to be roughly 40,000-45,000 square kilometers.

Occurrences Comments

This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations) (e.g., see map in Ross 2001).

Threat Impact Comments

Stream rechanneling projects "undoubtedly have eliminated many populations" but this fish "continues to be a common species in better quality streams within its range" (Etnier and Starnes 1993).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat includes rocky riffles of creeks and small rivers, and areas near debris in sand and gravel runs (Page and Burr 2011). This species generally occurs in swifter streams, often with considerable spring flow, often over gravel riffles or around logs or in detrital aggregations in second to fourth order streams (Etnier and Starnes 1993, Ross 2001); rooted aquatic vegetation often is present but is not a necessary habitat feature (Etnier and Starnes 1993).

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Louisiana	S4	Yes
Kentucky	S1	Yes
Alabama	S1	Yes
Tennessee	S4	Yes
Mississippi	S5	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
4 - Transportation & service corridors	Unknown	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	Unknown
4.3 - Shipping lanes	Unknown	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	Unknown
7 - Natural system modifications	—	—	—
7.3 - Other ecosystem modifications	—	—	—

Roadless Areas (1)

Mississippi (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Sandy Creek Rare Ii Area	Homochitto National Forest	2,620

References (13)

Burr, B. M., and M. L. Warren, Jr. 1986a. Distributional atlas of Kentucky fishes. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Scientific and Technical Series No. 4, Frankfort, Kentucky. 398 pp.
Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1986. <i>Etheostoma lynceum</i> removed from the synonymy of <i>E. zonale</i> (Pisces, Percidae). Copeia 1986:832-836.
Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. xiv + 681 pp.
Mettee, M. F., P. E. O'Neil, and J. M. Pierson. 1996. Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin. Oxmoor House, Birmingham, Alabama. 820 pp.
Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Ross, S. T., and W. M. Brenneman. 1991. Distribution of freshwater fishes in Mississippi. Freshwater Fisheries Report No. 108. D-J Project Completion Report F-69. Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries and Parks. Jackson, Mississippi. 548 pp.
Ross, S. T. (with W. M. Brennaman, W. T. Slack, M. T. O'Connell, and T. L. Peterson). 2001a. The Inland Fishes of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi: Mississippi. xx + 624 pp.
Warren, M. L., Jr., B. M. Burr, S. J. Walsh, H. L. Bart, Jr., R. C. Cashner, D. A. Etnier, B. J. Freeman, B. R. Kuhajda, R. L. Mayden, H. W. Robison, S. T. Ross, and W. C. Starnes. 2000. Diversity, distribution, and conservation status of the native freshwater fishes of the southern United States. Fisheries 25(10):7-31.

Etheostoma lynceum

Habitat

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