The goldline darter (''Percina aurolineata'') is a small species of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, a darter from the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Etheostomatinae Etheostomatinae is a species-rich subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fish, the members of which are commonly known as the darters. The subfamily is part of the family Percidae which also includes the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. The family ...

, part of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

, which also contains the

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

es, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in the United States, primarily in the

Cahaba River The Cahaba River is the longest substantially free-flowing river in Alabama. It is a major tributary of the Alabama River and part of the larger Mobile River basin. With headwaters near Birmingham, the Cahaba flows southwest, then at Heiberger tu ...

in central

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ac ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and Alabama. It is a small fish seldom exceeding in length. It is typically found in areas with moderate to swift currents and a water depth of over , in the main channels of free-flowing rivers with a rock, cobble or boulder base and aquatic plants. It has been federally listed as a threatened species since April 22, 1992, and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has classified its conservation status as being " vulnerable".

Description

The fish is between long with brownish red and amber

dorsolateral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

stripes. Unlike other members of the ''Hadropterus'' subgenus, its back is a pale to dusky color. It has a white belly on which a series of square lateral and dorsal blotches can be seen. These blotches are separated by a pale or gold-colored stripe.

Distribution and habitat

This fish 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

system in central

and the

system in

and Alabama. There are two disjunct populations of goldline darters in the Alabama River Basin in addition to the population in the Mobile Basin. One of these groups occurs in the middle Cahaba River system, while the other is found in the

Coosawattee River The Coosawattee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 river located in northwestern Georgia, United States. Description The river is noted as beg ...

system, which is a tributary of the Coosa River. This species prefers to live in areas with moderate to swift current and a water depth of over in the main channels of free-flowing rivers. These areas where it is most common have a bottom of

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

, cobble, or small boulders and contain patches of water willow or other river weed. As in other ''Hadropterus'' subgenus members, the goldline darter spawns beginning in March and continues spawning through May or June.

Status

The goldline darter is threatened due to water quality degradation on the Cahaba River.

Strip mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...

activities,

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

, and sewage

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

have exterminated populations. The building of reservoirs has also led to the fragmentation and isolation of some populations of goldline darters. Attempts to raise the population of the goldline darter will focus on habitat preservation and water quality improvement. The main decrease in population density is in the Little Cahaba River population. The

has classified its conservation status as being " vulnerable" because of the relatively small population of this fish and the ongoing habitat degradation.

References

* *

External links

FWS Species Account

Outdoor Alabama Species Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q936732 Percina Endemic fish of the United States Fish described in 1967 ESA threatened species