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Allohistium cinereum (Storer, 1845)
Ashy Darter
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: No Georgia state protection
Global Rank: G2G3
State Rank: SX
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: Moderate Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 1
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Medium to large upland streams in slackwater areas with silt-free substrate and cover such as boulders or snags
E. cinereum is a large darter that reaches a maximum standard length of 100 mm. It has thick, papillose lips, a long snout in relation to the head and an unscaled breast and nape. It has a mid-lateral row made up of 10-13 small black rectangles expanding into greyish-brown diagonal bands, darkest just below the lateral lines and forming an interrupted lateral stripe that extends through the eye to the tip of the snout. It also has 4 irregular rows of orange dots that form thin, horizontal stripes on the upper sides. Mature males have a greatly elongated and distally rounded second dorsal fin that reaches nearly to the caudal fin when depressed, rust or blood red color on the lips and first dorsal fin and brilliant, iridescent blue on the rays of the anal and pelvic fins and a less intense blue on the chin, lower opercle, breast, belly and lower caudal peduncle.
Etheostoma maydeni, the Redlips Darter, was split out from E. cinereum in 2012. It was formerly the Ashy Darter that was found in tributaries to the Cumberland River below Cumberland Falls. E. maydeni is similar to E. cinereum except they have bright red pigment on their lips and modally fewer dorsal spines, dorsal rays, and caudal peduncle scales than E. cinereum.
This species is found in clear pools with slow current in silt-free sand or gravel substrate. They are usually found close to shore in water 0.5-1.75 meters deep and are usually associated with cover such as boulders, snags and water willow (Justicia). They are usually found in medium sized river, but likely use larger rivers and smaller streams as corridors for movement associated with their life history.
The diet of this species is mostly made up of chironomid larvae, mayfly larvae, midge larvae and oligochaetes.
Ashy Darters live can live to 4+ years. Males and females are fully mature at 2 years old. Spawning season lasts from late-January to mid-April with peak breeding season in March-April. Spawning behavior and spawning habitat is unknown, but due to egg shape this species may be an egg burier or an egg attacher.
The Ashy Darter is a difficult species to collect, but setting a seine along beds of Justicia and boulders and kicking down to the seine is likely the best way to survey for this fish. Backpack electrofishing has also proven as an effective method to collect the species.
The Ashy Darter is sporadically distributed in medium to large rivers in the Cumberland and Tennessee River drainages in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. This fish had been recorded from 15 tributary systems, but is only common in four: Rockcastle River, Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, Buffalo River and Little River.
Threats to the Ashy Darter include impoundments, siltation, coal mining and domestic and industrial pollution. Because the Ashy Darter is a pool inhabiting species, siltation likely has the greatest detrimental effect to it’s habitat.
| Threat 1 | Threat 2 | Threat 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Threat | Natural system modifications | None | None |
| Specific Threat | Dams & water management/use | None | None |
The Ashy Darter is most likely extirpated from Georgia. The Ashy Darter was last collected in Georgia in 1955.
Habitat improvement in the Tennessee River drainage in Georgia is imperative to the recovery of this species.
Compton, M. and C. Taylor. 2013. Spatial scale effects on habitat associations of the Ashy Darter, Etheostoma cinereum, an imperiled fish in the southeast United States. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2013 (22): 178–191.
Etnier, D.A. and W. D. Starnes. 1993. The Fishes of Tennessee. Univ. Tennessee Press, Knoxville: 480-482.
Powers, S. L., B.R. Kuhajda and S.E. Ahlbrand. 2012. Systematics of the Etheostoma cinereum (Teleostei: Percidae) species complex (subgenus Allohistium). Zootaxa 3277: 43-55.
Powers, S. L., R. L. Mayden and D. A. Etnier. 2004. Conservation Genetics of the Ashy Darter, Etheostoma cinereum (Percidae: Subgenus Allohistium), in the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers of the Southeastern United States. Copeia 2004(3): 632–637.
Shepard, T.E., and B. Burr. 1984. Systematics, Status, and Life History Aspects of the Ashy Darter, Etheostoma cinereum (Pisces: Percidae). Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 97(4): pp. 693-715.
Shawna Mitchell
S. Mitchell, Dec 2018: Original account