Darters, Part II

I offer some more photos from Sunday's aquatic excursion - images of those beautiful little fish known as darters. It would be a better place if everyone could see these colorful little jewels in person - any life would be enriched.

Banded Darter, Etheostoma zonale. These elfin beasts lurk in the cobble of riffles, seeking out, attacking, and eating small stream life. I suppose it would be an honor to be consumed by such a beautiful creature. Better than being eaten by a catfish!

Banded Darters are a common stream species in much of Ohio, and have a distinctive pattern of uniform emerald-green stripes along the body.

While certainly not a candidate for the Elton John Award for Excessive Gaudiness amongst Darters, Johnny Darters, Etheostoma nigrum, have their own charm. Johnnys are often very common in Ohio streams, and have an interesting pattern of little W's along their sides.

The blue whale of the darter world, a Logperch, Percina caprodes. The average darter probably measures a scant two-three inches. These whoppers can tape out at seven inches.

Almost unbelievably showy in tones of emerald, offset with a band of brilliant orange at the base of the dorsal fin, is the Greenside Darter, Etheostoma blennioides.

One more of the Greenside Darter. This is a real ooh and aah fish, guaranteed to get a reaction from someone who has never seen one before. They have an interesting and scattered distribution, with some populations well removed from others.

One of Ohio's real rarities, a Bluebreast Darter, Etheostoma camurum. Bluebreasts are only known from seven states, and populations tend to small and localized. It's considered threatened in Ohio.

While not as overtly showy as some other darter species, like many critters, it's hard to do full justice to a Bluebreast Darter through the lens of a camera. The sides are stippled with bright orange spots, and the fins have strong yellow tones. Barely visible is the rich turquoise-blue throat patch.

Capturing and photographing aquatic species such as these darters is a real treat, and I've got more pics to come. I also hope to make one more field trip this spring, and apply some improvements in photographic technique for shooting fish.