| Percidae (Perches), subfamily: Etheostomatinae |
| 9.02 cm SL (male/unsexed); 8.23 cm SL (female) |
|
benthopelagic; freshwater |
| North America: endemic to the Ouachita River system in the Ouachita Highlands Arkansas, USA. |
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Dorsal spines (total): 11-14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-15; Anal spines: 2-2; Anal soft rays: 8-11; Vertebrae: 39-41. A species of the subgenus Swainia but distinguished from all other species of Swainia by having the following combination of characters: snout depth is less than snout length; the ratio of snout length to SL is greater than 7.5%; more than 72 pored lateral line scales (mode 76-80); breast is unscaled or partially scaled in males and females; lateral pigmentation on body with 12 to 15 vertically elongated distinct blotches, with seven or more of these blotches between the insertion of the second dorsal fin and the hypural plate; and usually 12 branchiostegal rays (6 on each side). |
| Observed to seasonally occupy two different types of habitats. In spring season, breeding individuals typically occurs in gravelbottomed and cobble substrate riffle areas and swift chutes and runs of up to approximately 1 m deep. Inhabits deeper pool habitats for the remainder of the year. Also reported to inhabit deep, swift riffle areas with rocky substrates
and thick growths of Podostemon heterophyllum in spring. During fall, a single specimen was collected from a sluggish siltbottom pool at the confluence of the Ouachita River and Lake Ouachita. Also observed to have preference for a late-summer microhabitat of upstream edges of runs that invariably included slight surface agitation and a high
percentage of cobble substrate. |
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Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
|
| harmless |
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Known only from the Ouachita River system in the Ouachita Highlands of Arkansas. Presently found in the Ouachita River and two of its major western tributaries, the Caddo and Little Missouri Rivers, with the densest populations being found in a 40 km stretch of the Ouachita River above the headwaters of the Lake Ouachita impoundment. Never abundant at any single locality. Confined only to the relatively small area of the upper Ouachita River drainage. Due to its small small population sizes and low densities at individual sites, effective conservation of this species may require a protection status and management plan from appropriate state and federal governmental agencies (Ref. 102809). |
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