Common name: Swamp Darter

Synonyms and Other Names: Bolesoma fusiforme

Taxonomy: available through www.itis.gov

Identification: Page (1983); Smith (1985); Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994).

Size: 5.9 cm.

Native Range: Seaboard lowlands, Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from southern Maine to Louisiana (Sabine River) and southeastern Oklahoma (Red River); Former Mississippi Embayment north to Kentucky and southeastern Missouri (Page and Burr 1991). Collette (1962) gave a dot distribution map.

Alaska	Hawaii	Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands	Guam Saipan

Native range data for this species provided in part by NatureServe

Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) Explained
Interactive maps: Point Distribution Maps

Ecology: Primarily occurs in slow moving or stagnant waters such as ponds, swamps, and small backwaters (Collette 1962).

Means of Introduction: Unknown.

Status: Established in North Carolina (Page and Burr 1991).

Impact of Introduction: The impacts of this species are currently unknown, as no studies have been done to determine how it has affected ecosystems in the invaded range. The absence of data does not equate to lack of effects. It does, however, mean that research is required to evaluate effects before conclusions can be made.

Remarks: This species was incorrectly considered introduced to a coastal stream west of the Thames River, Connecticut, by Schmidt and Whitworth (1979) (Schmidt 1986). Fish collected from this location were incorrectly described as a new subspecies, Hololepis barratti apalachia (Bailey 1950; Bailey et al. 1954). Hololepis is now considered a subgenus of Etheostoma and barratti, which was once a subspecies of fusiforme, was placed back in the species fusiforme (Collette 1962).

References: (click for full references)

Bailey, J.R. 1950. A new subspecies of the darter Hololepis barratti from western North Carolina. Copeia 1950(4):311-316.

Bailey, R.M., H.E. Winn, and C.L. Smith. 1954. Fishes from the Escambia River, Alabama and Florida, with ecologic and taxonomc notes. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 61:109-164.

Collette, B.B. 1962. The swamp darters of the subgenus Hololepis (Pisces, Percidae). Tulane Studies in Zoology 9(4):115-211.

Etnier, D.A., and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tenneessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN.

Jenkins, R.E., and N.M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater Fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.

Menhinick, E. F. 1991. The freshwater fishes of North Carolina. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. 227 pp.

Page, L.M. 1983. Handbook of darters. T.F.H., Inc., Neptune City, NJ.

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Guide Series, vol. 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.

Schmidt, R.E. 1986. Zoogeography of the northen Appalachians. 137-160 in C.H. Hocutt and E.O. Wiley, eds. The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.

Smith, C.L. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.

Other Resources:
Texas Freshwater Fishes (University of Texas San Marcos)

Author: Pam Fuller, and Matt Neilson

Peer Review Date: 8/1/2011

This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.