Niangua darter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Niangua darter |
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The Niangua darter (Etheostoma nianguae) is a small freshwater fish. It belongs to the darter group. This group is part of the perch family, which also includes perches and pikeperches. The Niangua darter lives only in Missouri, United States. You can find it in the Osage River Basin in central Missouri. It used to live in rivers like the Sac, Pomme de Terre, Niangua, Big Tavern Creek, and Maries River. This fish is now considered a threatened species by the United States government.
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What the Niangua Darter Looks Like
The Niangua darter is a thin fish. It has a silvery-brown color. It has about ten dark bars going up and down its body. These bars have brown centers. They are mixed with wavy orange lines. There are also two small black spots near its tail fin.
When males are ready to breed, their colors become much brighter. They show off bright orange and green bars along their sides. Their top fin and tail fin also have orange and green bands. This fish can grow up to about 13 centimeters (5 inches) long. But most Niangua darters are about 7.3 centimeters (3 inches) long.
Niangua Darter Life Cycle
Adult Niangua darters move to shallow, rocky areas called riffles to lay their eggs. This happens before they spawn. The spawning season is from mid-March to early June. Most of the breeding happens in April.
After laying their eggs, the Niangua darters go back to deeper pools and slower parts of the stream. Young darters can become adults and have their own babies after just one year. They can live for up to four years. However, most of them do not live longer than two years.
Niangua darters eat small insects that live in the water. These include young stoneflies and mayflies. They also eat other aquatic insects.
Where Niangua Darters Live
Niangua darters live in clear, flowing streams. They prefer small to medium-sized rivers. These waters should have a gentle or medium current. They need streams that flow all the time. The stream bottoms must be free of mud and have gravel and rocks.
These streams usually flow through hilly areas. The ground often has chert or dolomite rock. Most of the year, Niangua darters stay in shallow pools. They also like the edges of streams and slow-moving parts.
Niangua darters are found only in Missouri. They live in counties within the Osage River basin. These counties include Osage, Maries, Miller, Camden, Hickory, Dallas, Benton, Greene, Webster, Cedar, Polk, and St. Clair. In the past, the Niangua darter was common in these rivers and streams.
Why Niangua Darters Are Declining
The number of Niangua darters has gone down a lot in the last 30 years. This is mainly because they are losing their homes. Building dams and reservoirs has been a big problem. Reservoirs are large artificial lakes. They separate groups of darters. This stops them from moving between good habitats.
Changing stream channels has also hurt them. This means making rivers straighter or deeper. Clearing land nearby has also caused issues. It leads to more dirt and nutrients washing into the water. This harms the darter's habitat. Because of these problems, the IUCN (a group that tracks endangered species) has listed this fish as "Vulnerable". This means it is at risk of becoming endangered.
