Endangered Florida
Fish
An Okaloosa Darter
Photograph kindly permitted by Noel Burkhead
Okaloosa Darter
Etheostoma okaloosae
To begin: what is a Fish?
A fish is an aquatic
vertebrate (has a backbone)
that is cold blooded, has
fins, breathes through gills
and may be covered with
scales.
The tiny Darter spends much of its life in the
small streams of the Florida Panhandle,
like Ten Mile Creek.
An
Okaloosa Darter
Photo credit: Noel Burkhead
It prefers to hide or live along the edges of
clear,
fast moving, sandy bottomed waters with
abundant
shelter from the roots and plants in the water.
Ten Mile Creek, a Darter Geographic Range
Photo credit: Frank Jordan
The Okaloosa Darter has been listed since 1973
as Endangered,
but has been recommended
to now be listed as
Threatened, due to the
successful conservation efforts at
Eglin Air Base.
* It
is official, the Darter is now listed as a Threatened Species.*
An
Okaloosa Darter
Photo credit: Noel Burkhead
An
Okaloosa Darter
Photo credit: Frank Jordan
Places to learn more:
DEP
Eglin AFB and the Darter
Eglin Air Force Base
Partnership Helps Darter
FWS
Okaloosa
Darter History
Okaloosa Darter Recovery
