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Fish and Location Quiz

Started by Michael Wolfe , Aug 27 2008 09:26 PM

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14 replies to this topic

#1 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 27 August 2008 - 09:26 PM

What is this fish? ...and where do you think I took this photo?

q1.jpg 43.81KB 2 downloads

curser down for a clue...

q2.jpg 262.46KB 2 downloads

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#2 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 27 August 2008 - 10:04 PM

The photo is at Auburn University, but I'm befuddled as to exactly what darter that is... not tangerine, not slackwater. not tuscumbia, ... I'll figure it out by tomorrow, I swear!

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#3 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 27 August 2008 - 10:50 PM

It looks like a slackwater darter (E. boschungi) to me, I really have no clue, as I have not explored much.

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#4 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 27 August 2008 - 11:16 PM

The color bands in the first dorsal are wrong, and the intensity of the red/orange in the body is too high. But that was one of my first thoughts too.

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#5 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 27 August 2008 - 11:32 PM

OMG, Zoinks!, WTF is it? (with thanks to MSCooter!)

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#6 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 28 August 2008 - 10:07 AM

The photo is at Auburn University, but I'm befuddled as to exactly what darter that is... not tangerine, not slackwater. not tuscumbia, ... I'll figure it out by tomorrow, I swear!

You are correct with the location... I was in Auburn over the weekend... saw lots of water (it was all falling from the sky)... but only this one fish (on a sign)...

I didn't recognize the fish, just was glad to see that there was such a place on campus... for the study of non-game fishes.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#7 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 28 August 2008 - 11:10 AM

I'm pretty sure that is a slackwater darter. The color bands appear correct to me and the slight body coloration difference has to be because of the stretching or weathering of the photo.

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#8 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 28 August 2008 - 11:20 AM

I think part of the problem is so many of the boschungi pictures one typically can find are of very beat up specimens. The dorsal fin looks pretty similar to the specimen on my TN Valley Treasures poster sitting 2 feet from me. However, Bruce would correct about the position of the orange in the dorsal fin and on the side if he were looking at the Page (1983) picture.

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#9 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 28 August 2008 - 11:31 AM

I smell a cryptic species! :laugh:

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#10 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 28 August 2008 - 11:34 AM

If you look at this photo from CFI, it is nearly identical.

http://www.conservat...a_boschungi.htm

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#11 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 28 August 2008 - 12:05 PM

I think the only other one it could be is the Arakansas darter, Etheostoma cragini. And that don't mesh.

Todd

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#12 Guest_fundulus_*

Guests

Posted 28 August 2008 - 02:06 PM

The fish on the sign does look like a member of the Ozarka subgenus, you're right. It just doesn't look like the ones I've seen around here and photos people have made of them. Maybe we're back into different populations (of an admittedly scarce species) or different presentations of colors through different media. The teardrops are right, more than anything else. I suppose we could always ask the Lab people what they think is on their sign.

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#13 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 28 August 2008 - 02:31 PM

That is why I guessed slackwater darter, because while it does not 100% represent the few slackwater pictures I have seen, it is definitely closer to a slackwater darter than anything else out there (especially with that teardrop!). Also, we have to keep in mind that this is a picture of a picture....

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#14 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 28 August 2008 - 03:57 PM

Also, we have to keep in mind that this is a picture of a picture....

Thanks, I meant to say that in my last post.

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#15 Guest_JohnO_*

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Posted 29 August 2008 - 04:03 PM

That one looks, for all the world, like the very elusive Sign Darter. I saw one of these at the KY Fish&Game's wildlife center in Frankfort, KY.

It's normal habitat seems to be metal or plywood sheets. Lifespan is unknown, but appears dependent upon public or educational funding. Food source is unknown, chief predators are sunlight, corrosion, termites, and administrative apathy.

Collecting them in the wild is highly illegal and downright rude. Whey they are taken, it's usually with a crowbar or a chainsaw.

Well, that's my guess at it's identity.