Yellowcheek Darter

R.E. McDaniel noted in 1984 that male and female yellowcheek darters reach sexual maturity at one year of age, with spawning generally occurring from mid-May through June in the swift to moderately swift portions of riffles, often around or under the largest substrate particles. However, M. Wine and others noted in 2000 that brooding females have also been found at the head of riffles in smaller gravel substrate. 

A number of life-history characteristics including courtship patterns, specific spawning behaviors, egg deposition sites, number of eggs per nest, degree of nest protection by males and degree of territoriality are not well known at this time. However, R.E. McDaniel suggested in 1984 that females deposit eggs on the undersides of large rubble in swift water. M. Wine and S. Blumenshine later noted that, during laboratory spawning, female yellowcheek darters bury themselves in fine gravel or sand substrates, often behind large cobble or boulders, with only their heads and caudal fin exposed. A male yellowcheek darter, then positioned upstream of the buried female, fertilized her eggs, as she released them in a vibrating motion. During laboratory spawning 20 to 30 eggs were deposited on pebbles less than two centimeters wide in small clumps, and buried, circa three to five centimeters in the substrate. 

The Yellowcheek Darter is a small and laterally-compressed fish that attains a maximum standard length of about 6.4 cm (Raney and Suttkus 1964). The back and sides are grayish brown, often with darker brown saddles and lateral bars. Breeding males are brightly colored with a bright blue or brilliant turquoise throat and breast and a light-green belly, while breeding females possess orange and red-orange spots but are not brightly colored (Robison and Buchanan 1988). Endemic to the Upper Little Red River, the species was historically distributed throughout the system. However, construction of the Greers Ferry Dam in 1962 confined the species to isolated reaches of the Little Red River above Greers Ferry Lake.

R.E. McDaniel notes that the maximum lifespan of yellowcheek darters is approximately five years.

Lifecycle timelines of yellowcheek darter are not well documented. However, R.E. McDaniel documented that sexually reproductive yellowcheek darters spawn mid-May through June, and M. Wine, and others, noted that eggs hatch within 16 days of being laid. Fry are likely distributed downstream by currents and reach sexual maturity within one year. 

The back and sides are grayish brown, often with darker brown saddles and lateral bars. Breeding males are brightly colored with a bright blue or brilliant turquoise throat and breast and a light-green belly, while breeding females possess orange and red-orange spots but are not brightly colored as noted by H.W. Robison and T.M. Buchanan in 1988.

E.C. Raney and R. Suttkus described yellowcheek darters as small and laterally-compressed fish that attain a maximum standard length of about 6.4 cm (2.5 in), and have a moderately sharp snout, deep body and deep caudal peduncle.

The yellowcheek darter inhabits high-gradient headwater tributaries with clear water, permanent flow, moderate to strong riffles, as well as gravel, rubble and boulder substrates as noted by H.W. Robison and T.M. Buchanan in 1988, that are relatively free from sedimentation, as noted by M. Brophy and J. Stoeckel in 2006. Preference is given to loose, rather than embedded, gravel and cobble substrate that provides suitable shelter. M. Wine and several other researchers noted that seasonal stream drying appears to limit the range of the yellowcheek darter.

R.E. McDaniel noted in 1984 that yellowcheek darters eat aquatic fly and stonefly larvae, as well as mayfly nymphs and caddisfly larvae.