Etheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) is a small species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to North America where it is found in small, fast-moving streams and small to medium-sized rivers. It grows to 2 to 3 inches (51 to 76 mm) in length. The species is very sensitive to pollution and silt, staying in clean, pollution-free water. The rainbow darter is easily identified by three dark spots on the back, and blue and orange in the dorsal and anal fins.
Wikipedia contributors, Rainbow darter; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:29:40.662419+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Etheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845
- Name authority
- Storer, 1845
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Percidae
- Genus
- Etheostoma
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderPercoidei
- familyPercidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyEtheostomatinae Agassiz, 1850
- genusEtheostoma Rafinesque, 1819
- speciesEtheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Etheostoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Etheostoma artesiae (Hay, 1881) | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma asprigene (Forbes, 1878) | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma autumnale Mayden, 2010 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma barbouri Kuehne & Small, 1971 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma basilare Page, Hardman & Near, 2003 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma bellator Suttkus & Bailey, 1993 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma bison Ceas & Page, 1997 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma boschungi Wall & Williams, 1974 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma burri Ceas & Page, 1997 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma cervus Powers & Mayden, 2003 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma chermocki Boschung, Mayden & Tomelleri, 1992 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma chlorobranchium Zorach, 1972 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Etheostoma caeruleum caeruleum Storer, 1845 Storer, 1845 | synonym |
| Poecilichthys caeruleus (Storer, 1845) (Storer, 1845) | synonym |
| Etheostoma caerulea Storer, 1845 Storer, 1845 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Storer, D. H. (1845). [Description of a hitherto undescribed species of fish.]. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, v. 2 (1845–1848): 47–48. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3BL2Q. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.