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E. bellum and a puzzle

Started by Guest_JohnO_* , Aug 01 2009 09:01 PM

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13 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_JohnO_*

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Posted 01 August 2009 - 09:01 PM

From the Green River just south of Stanford, KY. Etheostoma bellum, the orangefin darter. Shaped a lot like a bluebreast, and from what I've observed, has the same blustery personality.

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And the puzzle - possibly E. obvense, barcheek darter. Head is very similar to the striped darter, but no stripes. Found in a tributary to the Green.

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Also found what looks like a fantail, but with horizontal stripes. So far, all the fantails I've found, and I've found a lot, have vertical bars if they have any patterns at all. Interesting...

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#2 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 01 August 2009 - 09:26 PM

John, did you get any pics of the 'fantail'? I was just looking over the species list and the Stripetail Darter (E. Kennicotti) is listed in that area. They are very fantail like and that may be what we were finding mixed in with the Fantails. I was just looking at the photos of E. Kennicotti in 'The American Darters' and I think that is what you have.

Also, the barcheek darter (E. obeyense) is not a listed species for that area. But, the Teardrop Darter (E. barbouri) is listed and a common species in the Green and Barren Rivers in KY. This must be what we were finding, we sure were finding them in great numbers. I'm also looking at a pic of it in American Darters and it looks like E. barbouri is the fish we were finding.

Edited by jblaylock, 01 August 2009 - 09:31 PM.

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#3 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 01 August 2009 - 09:37 PM

Aye, I'm glad I wasn't the only one stumped by the immature male orangefin. At first glance they look awfully similar.

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#4 Guest_JohnO_*

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Posted 02 August 2009 - 01:35 PM

Josh:

I'm pretty sure it's a fantail, but it's not like the ones we find in central KY.

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Straight spiny dorsal, a fantail trademark. But... the nose is a bit more blunt and downturned than I normally see, the horizontal stripes are thin, but I've never seen that on a fantail before. That's the second oddball fantail I've found in the Somerset/Stanton area.

Edited by JohnO, 02 August 2009 - 01:42 PM.

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#5 Guest_smilingfrog_*

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Posted 02 August 2009 - 02:25 PM

Josh:

I'm pretty sure it's a fantail, but it's not like the ones we find in central KY.

Straight spiny dorsal, a fantail trademark. But... the nose is a bit more blunt and downturned than I normally see, the horizontal stripes are thin, but I've never seen that on a fantail before. That's the second oddball fantail I've found in the Somerset/Stanton area.

The fantails around here get that pattern a lot. The ones I have kept change between that pattern and a vertical bar pattern where the bars are thicker and somewhat irregular.
I guess you can still see that vertical pattern in yours, it's just not as pronounced with the horizontal stripes breaking it up.

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#6 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 03 August 2009 - 08:30 PM

I must say, the Orangefin (E. Bellum) is one of the most beautiful darters I've seen so far. It almost rivals those breeding striped darters we found.

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#7 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 03 August 2009 - 11:35 PM

I must say, the Orangefin (E. Bellum) is one of the most beautiful darters I've seen so far. It almost rivals those breeding striped darters we found.

By far one of my favorites as well. I traveled 6 hours from home in search of bloodfins, found orangefins by accident and was thoroughly satisfied/mesmerized staring at them instead.
Etheostoma bellum
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#8 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 04 August 2009 - 08:33 AM

John and I have found a place for Bloodfins and Orangefins. The Bloodfins are interesting fish, but I think that Orangefins are really beautiful. I tried for an hour to get a good pic of my Orangefin last night, but he's still a little too jumpy. I did get some pics and I'll post them up later tonight.

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#9 Guest_JohnO_*

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Posted 04 August 2009 - 10:19 AM

Would have to agree, the orangefin and bluebreast are particularly attractive, even out of breeding colors. And both exhibit a lot of personality, more so than most darters I have.

That large orangefin is quite the scud hunter. Drop some scuds in the tank, and he's on them. Zap!

Edited by JohnO, 04 August 2009 - 10:20 AM.

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#10 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 04 August 2009 - 12:28 PM

I have found that Nothonotus never get out of breeding colors. It seems that in every riffle that a Nothonotus occurs you can always find quite a few big males fired up, regardless of the season. Anyone else have this experience? Gotta love em', Nothonotus and Ulocentra have to be my favorite fish and always put a smile on my face regardless of the drive and money put into seeing them.

This hobby has so many priceless moments and discovering a new Nothonotus definitely qualifies. In early June my girlfriend and I took a wonderful vacation to northern Arkansas and of course I put some seining in the agenda. Got to see E. juliae and E. moorei. However, no pictures were taken because (1) my girlfriend was my seining partner and that just never works out and (2) a leaky phototank did not help things. The Ozarks in such a cool area with an awesome diversity of fishes, however, it often gets skipped by many native fish enthusiast. Wish I could convince someone to sample the area with me next Spring.

Blake

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#11 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 04 August 2009 - 02:14 PM

This hobby has so many priceless moments and discovering a new Nothonotus definitely qualifies. In early June my girlfriend and I took a wonderful vacation to northern Arkansas and of course I put some seining in the agenda. Got to see E. juliae and E. moorei. However, no pictures were taken because (1) my girlfriend was my seining partner and that just never works out and (2) a leaky phototank did not help things. The Ozarks in such a cool area with an awesome diversity of fishes, however, it often gets skipped by many native fish enthusiast. Wish I could convince someone to sample the area with me next Spring.

Blake

I'm only a phone call away.

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#12 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 04 August 2009 - 02:40 PM

Word.

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#13 Guest_jim graham_*

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Posted 04 August 2009 - 02:41 PM

Phil Kukulski, Scott Carlson and myself did a northern Arkansas trip last February. Lots of cool stuff there.

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#14 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 05 August 2009 - 10:12 AM

Here are some pics of the fish I caught. I haven't gotten a good pic of the Teardrop Darter just yet, though he is darkening up nicely in the tank. Strange but they were really really light right out of the creek and now they are getting darker in the tank. I would really like to see these in breeding colors. We found a couple that were showing some red trim on the fins. If they are anything like a breeding Striped Darter, it would be a great sight to see. I also brought home a Headwater Darter from this area, but no photos yet.

E. Bellum - Orangefin Darter
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