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cherokee darter (Etheostoma scotti)
Status: Federally listed threatened
Description:
Cherokee darters are small (1.6 to 2.6 inches long) fish with 8 saddles on the back, six or more bands on teh sides, and red bands in the fins of breeding males. This species is found in the Etowah River basin, and nowhere else in the world. It prefers small streams-some only a few feet wide-and is distributed throughout much of the basin, from Lumpkin County in the northeast to Bartow and Paulding Counties in the west. Within these streams it can be found in shallow pools and runs over gravel and large rocks. Recent research shows that three genetically distinct groups of Cherokee darters exists in the basin, corresponding to the upper, middle and lower portions of the watershed. Cherokee darters spawn throughout March and June. Cherokee darters are listed as threatened on the federal Endangered Species List.
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Distribution of Etheostoma scotti within the Etowah basin
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Complete known range of Etheostoma scotti
For more information on this species, see Description and Distribution of Species Covered by the Etowah Aquatic HCP, November 2006, Byron Freeman and Seth Wenger.
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