Brighteye darter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brighteye darter |
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The brighteye darter (Etheostoma lynceum) is a small, freshwater fish. It belongs to a group of fish called darters. These fish are part of the family Percidae, which also includes perches. The brighteye darter lives only in the eastern United States. A scientist named Oliver Perry Hay first described this fish in 1885. For many years, people thought it was just a type of banded darter.
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Where Brighteye Darters Live
The brighteye darter lives in the bottom parts of freshwater streams and rivers. You can find them in rivers that flow into the eastern Mississippi River. Their home range stretches from Louisiana up to western Tennessee. They also live along the Gulf Coast to the Escatawpa River in Mobile County, Alabama.
These darters can also be found in western Kentucky. They live in coastal rivers from the Escatawpa River to the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Sometimes, changes to rivers, like straightening them, can make darters leave an area. But brighteye darters have been able to find new homes as they move through the Mississippi River system.
What Brighteye Darters Eat
Brighteye darters mostly eat small water bugs. Their favorite food is the tiny larval stages of flies called Chironomidae. These fly larvae live at the bottom of streams. The darter watches for them to hatch from their eggs. Then, it quickly eats them before they can swim away.
These flies hatch all year long. They make up about 75% to 80% of the brighteye darter's diet. Unlike some other darters, the brighteye darter does not change what it eats with the seasons. Other darters, like the blackbanded darter, might eat different things in summer than in winter.
Brighteye darters like clear, fast-moving water. They prefer places with gravel riffles, which are shallow, rocky areas. You can find this kind of habitat in many places around the Mississippi River Basin.
How Brighteye Darters Grow
Brighteye darters reproduce from late February to May. During this time, the male darters get bright colors. The females also become ready to lay eggs. The eggs stick to algae on rocks in the streams.
A female darter lays many eggs during the spawning season. Each egg is very small, about 1.2 to 1.5 millimeters (0.05 to 0.06 inches) in size. After hatching, the young darters grow quickly. They can reach a maximum length of about 6.5 centimeters (2.6 inches). It takes about one year for a brighteye darter to grow up and be able to reproduce.
Naming the Brighteye Darter
The brighteye darter was first officially described in 1885. This was done by an American fish scientist named Oliver Perry Hay. He found the first one in a shallow, rocky part of the Chickasawha River in Enterprise, Clarke County, Mississippi.
The scientific name lynceum comes from a Greek myth. It refers to Lynceus of Messenia, who was one of the Argonauts. Lynceus was famous for having incredibly sharp eyesight. This name fits the brighteye darter well!
Protecting Brighteye Darters
There is no special plan needed right now to protect the brighteye darter. This is because they can easily handle changes in their environment. Also, they are found in many different places. The brighteye darter is on the "Least Concern" list for endangered species in the United States. This means they are not currently at risk. However, they are protected in the states where they live, especially in Mississippi.
