Recognition and Redescription of a Distinctive Stoneroller from the Southern Interior Highlands

Populations of Campostoma (until now assigned to C. anomalum pullum) in parts of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas exhibit striking red or red-orange coloration in median fins and, usually, in all paired fins. This coloration is most intense in summer months, although it is present during much of the rest of the year, and is found in individuals of all sizes and both sexes. Such coloration is not found in contiguous populations of nominal C. a. pullum, or in any other Campostoma species. In addition to the red fin coloration, a distinct tubercle pattern on the nape of nuptial males, a unique pattern of dark pigment on the caudal fin of nuptial adults, and a minor row of teeth on the pharyngeal arch support the recognition of this form as a distinct species. We resurrect Campostoma spadiceum (Girard, 1856) as the valid name for this species and propose the common name Highland Stoneroller. We document its taxonomic history, discuss a junior synonym (Dionda grisea Girard, 1858), and compare C. spadiceum morphologically to contiguous C. a. pullum populations and to other recognized taxa in the genus. The ranges of C. spadiceum and C. a. pullum are largely non-overlapping, and we have found no morphological evidence of syntopic occurrence.

Fig. 1

Campostoma spadiceum collected in the Glover River, McCurtain Co., Oklahoma, 27 July 2004 (OKMNH 78852). Photographed after approximately 15 minutes in 10% formalin.

Fig. 2

Tubercle patterns of nuptial males. Above: Campostoma anomalum pullum (OKMNH 78848, 96 mm SL); Below: Campostoma spadiceum (OKMNH 70531, 101 mm SL).

Fig. 3

Caudal spot morphology of nuptial males. Above: Campostoma anomalum pullum (OKMNH 78878, 108 mm SL); Below: Campostoma spadiceum (OKMNH 78881, 103 mm SL).

Fig. 4

Pharyngeal teeth of Campostoma spadiceum. (A) Right pharyngeal arch from a specimen from Glover River, McCurtain Co., Oklahoma (OKMNH 78852); (B) Right pharyngeal arch from a specimen from the Ouachita River, Polk Co., Arkansas (OKMNH 78851).

Fig. 5

Campostoma spadiceum. (A) Nuptial male from Glover River, McCurtain Co., Oklahoma, collected 20 March 2007 (OKMNH 79128); (B) close-up of caudal peduncle of same male to show detailed coloration.

Fig. 6

Distribution of Campostoma spadiceum in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas: ▪ C. spadiceum; ▴ putative type locality of C. spadiceum near “Fort Smith” (Girard, 1956) and nearby site (to the southeast), collected by RCC, WJM, EMM, and FMC, July 2004. * C. spadiceum, San Bois Creek, near the type locality of Dionda grisea Girard (1856), collected by WJM and EMM, July 2006; • C. a. pullum.

Contributor Notes

Associate Editor: C. J. Ferraris.

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148; E-mail: bobcashner@gmail.com. Present address: 105 Continental Drive, Flat Rock, North Carolina 28731. Send reprint requests to this address.

² Department of Zoology and University of Oklahoma Biological Station, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, E-mail: wmatthews@ou.edu.

³ Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, Oklahoma 73072, E-mail: emarsh@ou.edu.

⁴ School of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 874601, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287. Present address: Department of Biology, WIDB 401, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84601, E-mail: peter.pub@unmack.net.

⁵ Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148. Deceased.

Received: 20 Mar 2008

Accepted: 21 Dec 2009