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What darter am I?


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#1 Guest_tglassburner_*

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Posted 13 May 2007 - 08:51 PM

I caught 4 pairs of this species of darter in NE Ohio. Is it orangethroat? If not what is it?

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#2 Guest_zackdmb_*

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Posted 13 May 2007 - 08:55 PM

They are greenside darters

#3 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 13 May 2007 - 09:12 PM

Well if they are from Northeast Ohio they cannot be orangethroat darters. It is a rainbow darter. Consult your Fishes of Ohio (Trautman 1981) and http://www.natureser...dIndexes=102592

Though you cannot see it very well, there looks like there is some red in the anal fin of the third picture, which is a distinguishing characteristic of the rainbow darter when comparing to an orangethroat. Also, orangethroats tend to have a higher arching head then rainbow darters, which slope back.

#4 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 13 May 2007 - 10:39 PM

I'll second Matt's rainbow darter assessment.

#5 Guest_tglassburner_*

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Posted 14 May 2007 - 08:41 AM

I only thought they were orangethroats because the looked more like those than any photos of rainbow darters I have seen. They have been eating brine shrimp, bloodworms, mosquito larvae, and a few pieces of flake. Any advice?

Thank you for helping me figure out exactly what species they are.

#6 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 16 May 2007 - 12:59 AM

They are rainbow darters, you caught them too far east for orangethroats.

#7 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 16 May 2007 - 12:24 PM

Not only do they have red in the anal fin, they have no teardrop like orangethroats have. They look a little different from the photos you may have seen because they are from the Lake Erie drainage. They tend to have more blue in them in the Lake Erie drainage. Where in NE Ohio did you collect them?

#8 Guest_tglassburner_*

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Posted 17 May 2007 - 11:54 AM

Not only do they have red in the anal fin, they have no teardrop like orangethroats have. They look a little different from the photos you may have seen because they are from the Lake Erie drainage. They tend to have more blue in them in the Lake Erie drainage. Where in NE Ohio did you collect them?


Geauga County.

Also caught at the same time was a fan tailed darter.

#9 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 17 May 2007 - 07:54 PM

Not only do they have red in the anal fin, they have no teardrop like orangethroats have. They look a little different from the photos you may have seen because they are from the Lake Erie drainage. They tend to have more blue in them in the Lake Erie drainage. Where in NE Ohio did you collect them?


Ed, apparently the teardrop is not a great ID characteristic, as the spectabile in my nearby streams only occasionally have a teardrop, if it is present, it is only strong enough to really see in the females. But as shown with all the splitting that has taken place with orangethroats, they are highly variable.

#10 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 17 May 2007 - 10:18 PM

Ed, apparently the teardrop is not a great ID characteristic, as the spectabile in my nearby streams only occasionally have a teardrop, if it is present, it is only strong enough to really see in the females. But as shown with all the splitting that has taken place with orangethroats, they are highly variable.

Point well taken.




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