Morphological Variation of the Redfin Darter, Etheostoma whipplei, with Comments on the Status of the Subspecific Populations
The redfin darter, Etheostoma whipplei (Percidae: subgenus Oligocephalus) has been the subject of several taxonomic treatments over the past 50 years. At the present, two subspecies are recognized: Etheostoma whipplei whipplei in the Ozark and Ouachita Highlands and Etheostoma whipplei artesiae on the Gulf Coastal Plain. We examined variation in meristics and pigmentation to assess the distinctiveness of eastern populations of E. w. artesiae. The results indicated that E. w. artesiae differs significantly from E. w. whipplei in meristics and features of male breeding pigmentation. We conclude that all populations currently recognized as E. w. artesiae should be elevated to full species status.Abstract
Distribution of Etheostoma whipplei whipplei (open circles) and Etheostoma whipplei artesiae (solid circles, modified from Retzer et al. (1986)
The relationship between caudal peduncle and lateral scale counts of Etheostoma whipplei whipplei (triangles) and Etheostoma whipplei artesiae (circles)