Variegate darter

Overview

Etheostoma variatum, the variegate darter, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to the eastern United States where it occurs primarily in the Ohio River basin; it is present in the states of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky with a small population in Virginia. It is a large darter, growing to 10 cm (4 in) long, orange-red with black vertical barring on its body, and horizontal barring on its front dorsal fin. Its typical habitat is swift-flowing riffles with rubble, boulder and gravel. No major threats have been identified for this fish and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

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