''Etheostoma osburni'', the candy darter or finescale saddled darter, is a species of fish in the family

Percidae The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains nearly 250 ...

, a member of the group known as

darters The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and c ...

. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the eastern

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where it is known only from the

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its watershed has been a significant industrial region of th ...

system in the states of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Description and natural history

''E. osburni'' can reach a length of , though most only reach about . This species has a lifespan of up to three years. It spawns in April and May.NatureServe. (2017)
''Etheostoma osburni''.
NatureServe Explorer V.7.1 Accessed 8 August 2017. It is an invertivore, feeding on aquatic insect larvae and water mites.

Habitat and geographic distribution

''E. osburni'' lives in a system of rivers, streams, and creeks in the central

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

. It can be found in rapid riffles in rocky riverbed habitat. It occurs in cold, cool, and warm waters, as long as the substrate is rocky and the water is clear. It tolerates fast currents.

Conservation

''E. osburni'' has a limited geographic range, it has been recorded in more than 10 locations and does not have a severely fragmented distribution, so it has been designated a

near-threatened species A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

. In 2018, US Fish and Wildlife Service designated it as a federally protected endangered species. It is probably declining, however, due to threats from human activity. It prefers clear, unsilted waters, and increases in

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

and

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

may reduce populations by reducing tolerable habitat.

Taxonomy and etymology

''E. osburni'' was first formally described as ''Poecilichthys osburni'' in 1932 by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Carl Leavitt Hubbs Carl Leavitt Hubbs (October 19, 1894 – June 30, 1979) was an American ichthyologist. Biography Early life Carl Leavitt Hubbs was born in Williams, Arizona, to Charles Leavitt and Elizabeth () Hubbs. His father had a wide variety of jobs (far ...

and

Milton Bernhard Trautman Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) Places Australia * Milton, New South Wales * Milton, Queensland, a suburb o ...

with the type locality given as Stony Creek which is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Greenbrier River The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River (Kanawha River), New River, long,McNeel, William P. "Greenbrier River." ''The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. 2006. . in ...

Pocahontas County, West Virginia Pocahontas County is a county located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,869. Its county seat is Marlinton. The county was established in 1821. It is named after the daughter o ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honors the American

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Raymond Carroll Osburn Raymond Carroll Osburn (January 4, 1872 – August 6, 1955) was an American zoologist. Biography Osburn was born on January 4, 1872, in Newark, Ohio. In 1898, he received his bachelor's degree from the Ohio State University, and continued there, ...

(1872–1955). The candy darter is considered to be closely related to the variegated darter (''E. variatum'').

In popular culture

In 2023 ''E. osburni'' was featured on a

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

forever stamp Non-denominated postage is a postage stamp intended to meet a certain postage rate, but printed without the denomination, the price for that rate. They may retain full validity for the intended rate, regardless of later rate changes, or they ma ...

as part of the ''Endangered Species'' set, based on a photograph from

Joel Sartore Joel Sartore is an American photographer focusing on conservation photography, conservation, speaker, author, teacher, and long-time contributor to National Geographic (magazine), ''National Geographic'' magazine. He is the head of ''The Photo Ar ...

's ''Photo Ark''. The stamp was dedicated at a ceremony at the

National Grasslands Visitor Center Buffalo Gap National Grassland is a National Grassland located primarily in southwestern South Dakota, United States. It is also the second largest National Grassland, after Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota. Characteristics of ...

Wall, South Dakota Wall (Lakota language, Lakota: ''Makȟóšiča Aglágla Otȟuŋwahe'', "Town alongside the Badlands National Park, Badlands") is a town in Pennington County, South Dakota, Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 699 at ...

Description and natural history

Habitat and geographic distribution

Conservation

Taxonomy and etymology

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading