Crystal Darter in Ohio River Basin 
135 
Owing to the rarity of this species in the northeast, the lack of data 
relative to its geographic variation, urban and industrial development in 
the collection area, and extensive coal and natural gas exploration in 
the lower Elk River sub-basin, the crystal darter was listed by the West 
Virginia Department of Natural Resources as a species of Special Con- 
cern, i.e., endangered or threatened at the state level (Cincotta, in 
review). However, because West Virginia does not have a state “endan- 
gered species” law, this designation will provide limited protection to 
the Kanawha River population. This species is presently in Category II 
(evaluation for potential listing) under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (Fed. Reg. 1985). If the crystal darter is indeed rare nationally, 
then Federal listing pursuant to the Act would probably be the only 
legal mechanism available that would assist the protection and man- 
agement of the population in West Virginia. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . — We thank Reeve M. Bailey, University 
of Michigan, for confirming our identification, and providing UMMZ 
collection records from the Ohio River basin. Bailey and R. E. Jenkins 
critically reviewed this manuscript and made recommendations for its 
improvement. D. A. Etnier, University of Tennessee, and J. D. Wil- 
liams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, graciously provided us with cer- 
tain data. For field assistance we are indebted to C. Doerfer, Wildlife 
Resources Division, and J. Fisher and D. Fisher, Water Resources Di- 
vision. Special thanks are extended to K. Cash and B. Knapp for typing 
the manuscript. All Wildlife Resources Division surveys cited herein 
were funded under D-J Federal Aid Project F-10-R. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Blair, W. Frank, A. P. Blair, P. Brodkorb, F. R. Cagle, and G. A. Moore. 
1968. Vertebrates of the United States. McGraw-Hill, New York. 
Burr, Brooks M. 1980. A distributional checklist of the fishes of Kentucky. 
Brimleyana 3:53-84. 
Cincotta, Dan A. In Review. Fishes. In Endangered, Threatened or Special 
Concern Vertebrates of West Virginia: 1986, K. B. Knight and L. B. 
McArthur, editors. W.Va. Dep. Nat. Resour., Charleston. 
Cincotta, Dan A., R. L. Miles, M. E. Hoeft, and G. E. Lewis. 1986. Discsovery 
of Noturus eleutherus, Noturus stigmosus, and Percina peltata in West 
Virginia, with discussions of other additions and records of fishes. Brim- 
leyana 12:101-121. 
Deacon, James E., G. Kobetich, J. D. Williams, S. Contreras, and committee. 
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cern: 1979. Fisheries 4(2):29-44. 
