FAMILY PERCIDAE 223 



GENUS Catonotus Agassiz 



STRIPED FANTAIL DARTER 



Catonotus flabellaris lineolatus Agassiz 



The striped fantail darter (Figure 40D) has a rather heavy body 

 with a long, pointed head and a projecting, prowhke lower jaw. It is 

 dark brown, with a dusky spot on each scale, so arranged that the 

 whole body seems covered with lengthwise stripes. The spines of the 

 dorsal fin are very low, and in the male each of them ends in a little 

 fleshy pad of a rusty-red color — the fish's only attempt at ornamenta- 

 tion. The dorsal fin has 8 spines and 12 to 14 soft rays, the anal fin 

 2 spines and 7 to 9 soft rays. The scales number 9, 40-65, 14. The head 

 is naked. The gill-membranes are broadly connected. This species 

 reaches a length of 2 1/2 inches. 



Jordan (1888) referred to the fantail as the darter of darters, the 

 hardiest, wiriest, wariest of them all, and the one most expert in catch- 

 ing other creatures. It is the one that most surely evades your clutch; 

 you can catch a weasel when you can put your fingers on one of these. 

 Jordan further stated that the fantail darter chooses the coldest and 

 swiftest waters, where, as befits his form, he leads an active, predatory 

 life and is the terror of water snails, caddis worms, and mosquito larvae. 



The striped fantail darter ranges from northern Minnesota and 

 Michigan to northern Arkansas and Oklahoma, Greene ( 1935) reported 

 this species from all parts of Wisconsin except in the Lake Superior 

 drainage. It is very common, and many have been collected from lakes 

 and small streams of southern and central Minnesota. 



GENUS Microperca Putnam 



NORTHERN LEAST DARTER 



Microperca microperca microperca (Jordan and Gilbert) 



The body of the northern least darter (Figure 40F) is short, deep, 

 and compressed. The lateral line is absent. The head is rather short and 

 bluntly rounded, with a somewhat decurved snout. The pelvic fins are 

 very large in the males. The scales number 34-39, 9. The dorsal fin 

 has 6 or 7 spines and 10 soft rays, the anal fin 2 spines and 6 soft rays. 

 The color and markings are olivaceous and much speckled with brown. 

 There are many zigzag markings; the soft dorsal and caudal fins are 

 barred; there is a dark spot on the shoulder. This darter reaches a 

 length of 1 to 1 1/2 inches. It may be recognized by the absence of the 

 lateral line. 



The northern least darter ranges from Minnesota to southern Ontario 

 and southward to Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. It is the smallest 

 darter and probably the smallest of our native fishes. Because of its 



