Percina burtoni Fowler, 1945
Blotchside darter
Percina burtoni
photo by N. Burkhead & R. Jenkins, courtesy of VDGIF

Family:  Percidae (Perches), subfamily: Etheostomatinae
Max. size:  16 cm TL (male/unsexed); max. reported age: 4 years
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  North America: Tennessee and Cumberland River drainages in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee, USA.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 15-18; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-17. Percina burtoni is distinguished from its congener P. apina by having lower mean number of lateral line scales (89.92 vs. 93.09), pored lateral line scales (88.78 vs. 91.59), transverse scale rows (33.59 vs. 38.09), and scales around the caudal peduncle (33.54 vs. 36.22); shape of the midlateral blotches tend to be higher than wide (vs. typically wider than high in P. apina); all blotches are distinctly round in shape (vs. posteriormost blotches ovoid or rectangular in shape in P. apina); pigmentation is diffuse at the ventral margins of the blotches (pigmentation along the edges of the blotches is sharply defined in P. apina) (Ref. 116752).
Biology:  Inhabits gravel runs and riffles of clear, small to medium rivers (Ref. 5723, 10294); also found in creeks (Ref. 10294). Feeds on mayfly, caddisfly, stonefly, midge, and blackfly larvae and adult and larval riffle beetles (Ref. 10294).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 25 April 2012 (B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v)) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.