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Home/Species/ Duskytail Darter

Etheostoma percnurum

Jenkins, 1994

Duskytail Darter

G1Critically Imperiled Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G1Critically ImperiledGlobal Rank
Critically endangeredIUCN
LE, XNESA Status
Very high - highThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.832896
Element CodeAFCQC02F50
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNCritically endangered
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyPercidae
GenusEtheostoma
USESALE, XN
Concept Reference
Blanton, R. E., and R. E. Jenkins. 2008. Three new darter species of the Etheostoma percnurum species complex (Percidae, subgenus Catonotus) from the Tennessee and Cumberland river drainages. Zootaxa 1963:1-24.
Taxonomic Comments
Etheostoma lemniscatum, E. marmorpinnum, and E. sitikuense formerly were included in E. percnurum; these were described as distinct species by Blanton and Jenkins (2008).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2022-11-10
Change Date2009-08-31
Edition Date2022-11-10
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G. (2011), Sears, N. (2022)
Threat ImpactVery high - high
Range Extent<100 square km (less than about 40 square miles)
Number of Occurrences1 - 5
Rank Reasons
This species has an extremely small range in Virginia, just two occurrences, and ongoing decline in extent of habitat as a result of coal mining and poor land-use practices.
Range Extent Comments
This species is endemic to the Clinch River System in the Tennessee River drainage, Scott County, Virginia, USA. Historically, it occupied 29 km (18 mi) of Copper Creek, and a single site in the mainstem Clinch River, 1 river-kilometer below the mouth of Copper Creek (Blanton and Jenkins 2008). Currently, the range has declined to 14.5 km (9 mi) (USFWS 2021). As of 2019, the species has successfully been reintroduced at a site in the Clinch River (Conservation Fisheries Inc. 2017, in USFWS 2021).
Occurrences Comments
This species is known from two occurrences; the lower 29 km of Copper Creek plus the Clinch River site 1 km below their confluence, and a second record farther upstream in Copper Creek based on a 1979 specimen in the University of Tennessee collection (Virginia Natural Heritage Program 2023).
Threat Impact Comments
Poor land use resulting in sedimentation is the greatest threat to the Duskytail Darter, particularly in the Clinch River/Copper Creek area (Roble, S. and R. Jordan, pers. comm. 2023). Spills from overturned trucks hauling hazardous chemicals on local roads near Copper Creek and the Clinch River is another threat and can be catastrophic (Virginia Natural Heritage Program 2023). Additional low-level threats include a decline in water quality as a result of coal surface mining in upper Clinch River (Blanton and Jenkins 2008, USFWS 2021), impoundments, and logging (Burkhead and Jenkins 1991, Blanton and Jenkins 2008, USFWS 2021).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat includes gravel, rubble, and slabrock pools and runs of small to medium rivers (Page and Burr 2011); the "lower main channel of Copper Creek, which is a clear, warm, moderate-gradient, intermontane stream in the Ridge and Valley Province of Virginia. Adults occur primarily in pools, and much less frequently in swift runs, and are associated with relatively clean gravel, cobble, and boulders. The range of habitats includes slack water, detritus, slightly silted stones, and bedrock" (Jenkins and Burkhead 1994, Blanton and Jenkins 2008).

Ecology

This species may compete with E. flabellare in the overlap zone in Cooper Creek, Virginia (Burkhead and Jenkins 1991).

Reproduction

In Copper Creek over several years, this species spawned from mid-April to mid-June (Jenkins and Burkhead 1994); most spawning apparently occurred in May (Burkhead and Jenkins 1991). Males guard eggs. Based on related species, individual females lay probably multiple clutches each season (Layman 1991) (clutches separated by intervals of several days). Most yearlings in Copper Creek are immature (Burkhead and Jenkins 1991). Individuals live a little more than two years at most.
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN1
ProvinceRankNative
VirginiaS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
3 - Energy production & miningRestricted - smallSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
3.2 - Mining & quarryingRestricted - smallSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5 - Biological resource useRestricted - smallSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingRestricted - smallSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsRestricted (11-30%)Extreme - moderateHigh (continuing)
7.2 - Dams & water management/useRestricted (11-30%)Extreme - moderateHigh (continuing)
9 - PollutionPervasive - largeExtreme or 71-100% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
9.2 - Industrial & military effluentsPervasive - largeExtreme - moderateHigh (continuing)
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluentsPervasive - largeExtreme or 71-100% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (4)
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
Tennessee (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bald River Gorge AdditionCherokee National Forest1,728
Brushy RidgeCherokee National Forest7,469
Upper Bald RiverCherokee National Forest9,202
References (26)
  1. Blanton, R. E., and R. E. Jenkins. 2008. Three new darter species of the <i>Etheostoma percnurum</i> species complex (Percidae, subgenus <i>Catonotus</i>) from the Tennessee and Cumberland river drainages. Zootaxa 1963:1-24.
  2. Burkhead, N. M., and R. E. Jenkins. 1991. Fishes. Pages 321-409 in K. Terwilliger (coordinator). Virginia's Endangered Species: Proceedings of a Symposium. McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Virginia.
  3. Conservation Fisheries, Inc. [CFI]. 2017. Duskytail darter (<i>Etheostoma percnurum</i>): plan for controlled propagation for reintroduction in the upper Clinch River, Virginia. Prepared by: Melissa Petty, Patrick Rakes & J.R. Shute, Conservation Fisheries, Inc. and Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  4. Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. xiv + 681 pp.
  5. Giam, X., J. D. Olden, and D. Simberloff. 2018. Impact of coal mining on stream biodiversity in the US and its regulatory implications. Nature Sustainability 1(4):176-183.
  6. Jelks, H. L., S. J. Walsh, N. M. Burkhead, S. Contreras-Balderas, E. Díaz-Pardo, D. A. Hendrickson, J. Lyons, N. E. Mandrak, F. McCormick, J. S. Nelson, S. P. Platania, B. A. Porter, C. B. Renaud, J. Jacobo Schmitter-Soto, E. B. Taylor, and M.L. Warren, Jr. 2008. Conservation status of imperiled North American freshwater and diadromous fishes. Fisheries 33(8):372-407.
  7. Jenkins, R. E. 1974. Account of duskytail darter. 2 pp.
  8. Jenkins, R. E., and N. M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxiii + 1079 pp.
  9. Layman, S. R. 1984. The duskytail darter, <i>Etheostoma </i>(<i>Catonotus</i>) sp., confirmed as an egg-clusterer. Copeia 1984:992-994.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Rakes, P. L., P. W. Shute, and J. R. Shute. 1998. Captive propagation and population monitoring of rare Southeastern fishes. Final Report for 1997. Field Season and Second Quarter Report for Fiscal Year 1998, prepared for Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Contract No. FA-4-10792-5-00. 32 pp.
  16. Shute, Peggy (Aquatic Zoologist, Tennessee Valley Authority Regional Heritage). 1997. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC. October 1997.
  17. State Natural Heritage Data Centers. 1996a. Aggregated element occurrence data from all U.S. state natural heritage programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia. Science Division, The Nature Conservancy.
  18. State Natural Heritage Data Centers. 1996c. Aggregated element occurrence data from all U.S. state natural heritage programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia: Export of freshwater fish and mussel records from the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1997. Science Division, The Nature Conservancy.
  19. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 13 September 2007. Establishment of nonessential experimental population status for 15 freshwater mussels, 1 freshwater snail, and 5 fishes in the lower French Broad River and in the Lower Holston River, Tennessee. Federal Register 72(177):52434-52461.
  20. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1993. Determination of endangered status for the duskytail darter, paleozone shiner and pygmy madtom. Federal Register 58(79):25758-25763.
  21. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1993. Duskytail darter recovery plan. Atlanta, Georgia. 25 pp.
  22. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1993. Technical/agency draft recovery plan for duskytail darter (<i>Etheostoma </i>(<i>Catanotus</i>) sp.). Southeast Region, Atlanta, Georgia. 32 pp.
  23. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2001. Proposed establishment of nonessential experimental population status for 4 fishes into the Tellico River, from the backwaters of Tellico Reservoir upstream to Tellico River Mile 33, in Monroe County, Tennessee. Federal Register 66:30853-30860.
  24. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2002. Establishment of nonessential experimental population status and reintroduction of four fishes in the Tellico River. Federal Register 67(155):52420-52428.
  25. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2012. Duskytail Darter (<i>Etheostoma percnurum</i>) 5-year review: summary and evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office, Southeast Region, Cookeville, Tennessee. 25 pp.
  26. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2021. Duskytail Darter (<i>Etheostoma percnurum</i>), 5-year review, summary and evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta Regional Office, Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office, Cookeville, Tennessee. 20 pp.